The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-07-08
NEA Service Writer

4NAAA WI WIZ svAAtSh
Washington Some people can
have a doctors care without any
doctor bills.
Not very many, it is true, but the
Committee on the Costs of Medical
Care located some community ex-
periments of the sort which it con-
sidered worthy of exhaustive study.
Thirty-one communities in two
Canadian provinces have employed
community physicians to treat their
citizens and one large American
shoe company for more than 10
years has provided free medical
care for it's $1,000 employees and
their dependents with medical de-
partment employing 100 persons.
The reports of the committees .ex-
ments have been carried out with
more than a satisfactory degree of
success. The reports are especially
interesting because of the attention
modern day sociologists are paying
to the inequalities of illness and the
committees attack on the problem
of reasonable costs of medical serv-
ice for its recipients.
Might Try 1t Her
In Saskatchewan and Monitoba -
mostly in the former province - 81
rural communities now have COM
munity doctors. These rural COM
munities resemble our counties,
being about IS miles square. The
community doctor system is 10 years
old and it may be applicable to some
communities in the United States IN
view of a recognized tendency for
physicians to concentrate in cities
because of unsatisfactory incomes
obtainable in rural areas. The sys-
tenn has grown in Saskatchewan
because of complaints of excessive
medical costs and insufficient serv-
ice in rural areas and partly because
of the difficulty in persuading ply
sicians to enter private practice
where returns were very low. Some
times local physicians have demand
cd that they be hired by the COM
munity if the community wanted
them to stay.
Seven additional communities
voted to hire municipal doctor last
December and not one of the 81
which have had a municipal doctor
has abandoned the plan.
Physicians are eager for the posi-
tions and it is said that from 30 to
SO apply whenever one IS open.
Gets $4,000 Per Year
The average community served
has a population of 1900 and the
median salary of the Saskatchewan
| municipal doctor is about $4,000.
He may or may not be permitted
additional income from certain fees.
He serves not only as general prac-
titioner to the rural municipality,
but also as the public health OFF,
Ger. In several communities besides
the 81 the local physician Is subsi-
died to the extent of $1,000 or less
4. GnrviNaS
and his care of INDECENT persons.
| Usually the municipal physician
serves all residents without charge,
although sometimes nominal fees
are set for certain specified services.
| Office calls are invariably free or
charge. Most surgery Is exempted
from the "free care" system, al
though about half of the municlpal
doctors perform tonsillectomies free,
and there is usually charge or
drugs administered.
Make Over 800 Visits
| Each doctor has from 1000 to L.
500 office calls annually and makes
from 800 to 500 visits to the homes
of his patients. The committee re-
port finds that the average family
expense for medical service of all
kinds including taxes for the
physicians salary and any extra
fees paid, drugs. nursing and SO on
- is $40 year.
Nose municipal doctors say they
are doing more work now than
they would be If they were in pri-
vate practice but that their income
Is greater on the same amount OF
work than If they had to contend
with bad debts. General opinion
among them is that the contract
system does not interfere with the
important personal relationship be-
tween doctor and patient and some
of the physicians even admit that
the annual salary basis intensifies
the doctors interest in the patient's
recovery. It is also believed that
the quality of preventive medical
service has been considerably i'm
proved in the areas served.
Idea in Industry
The Endicott-Johnson Shoe Com
pany, operating in New York state,
at the time of the committees sur
vey was spending 100000 year for
complete medical service for its 49,
900 workers and their families. The
staff of its medical service included
les physicians, four dentists, 81
trained nurses and 80 technical and
professional assistants. The physi-
clans made S7,400 house calls and
received 11S,740 office visits in the
Year survayad. RAAidAs usin< ~