Evening star., 1942-06-22
BY HOWARD w. BLAKESLEE,
Wide World Science Editor


NEW YORK. June 22.-The Army
is asking for three to nine times
more doctors a thousand soldiers
than Americas civilian popula ton
has.
The rate is six and one half phySi-
clans a thousand soldiers. compared
with three for favored New York and
two-thirds of a doctor a thousand
IN some rural areas. Hence Amer
ica Is faced with:
l. The best medical care in his
tory for our soldiers.
3 Medical shortages at home
which may be serious in places.
Our Army had approximately
1900 doctors before 1910; has ap-
proximately $4,000 today. with 10000
more entering service as rapidly as
the careful induction systems can
take them. The Navy accounts for
an additional 10000 physicians in
service
The estimates are from $4,000 to
$4,000 doctors in military service in
a couple of years That is one third
of all the physicians in the Nation.
including those retired. More criti-
cal--at home but not for the SOL
diers-that number is three -fourths
of all our doctors of 45 or under.
Paper Work Takes Time.
There is talk of reducing the
Army rate to 51a doctors thousand
soldiers. without any drop at all in
medical care. the saving all being
made by cutting medical red tape.
Under the military system. clerical
and paper work has taken much Of
the doctors time. That time is said
to be equivalent to one doctor a
thousand men. Medical Corps
clerks, who are not physicians, could
be used.
Getting physicians into the Army
has been one of the recent bottle
necks in the military expansion.
Although doctors won't win the
war, some battles may depend on
the health which they maintain
among the troops. and the after
war usefulness and happiness of
thousands upon thousands of young
men is likely to depend on the skill
of these military physicians. So the
selection is going ahead with ex-
treme care.
Another red tape cut is helping
here. Formerly every physician en-
tering the Army had to be passed
by authorities in Washington. That
has been replaced with travelling
medical induction boards. The re-
suit is saving two to three months
in getting the doctors into service.
Log Jam Is Immense.
The log jam for civilians medical
care is immense. Leaders OF the
American Medical Association start
ed more than two years ago to pre-
pare for war. They cleared the
way for the Army and Navy. But,
as in the case of the automobile
and other great industries. the war
hit the medical profession with prob
lens the like Of which never ex-
listed in the United States since
pioneer days.
Typical logs in the jam are indus
trial defense areas. The Pubic
Health Service is studying the needs
of approximately 100 OF these right
now
Samples. with geographical iden-
tification omitted. include a COM
munity Of IS 900 persons which was
served by % physicians. That COM
munity is now 10000, and the num-
ber of doctors is Is. The rest are
in service.
Another is 10000 workers and
their families. planted in a rural
area which has only six doctors.
The six were already fairly busy
with the farmers. This area is
warning that medical care problems
can become acute even where the
numbers OF workers are not espe-
cially large.
Cesspool Sanitation.
Within less than 20 miles OF one
of the worlds famous medical Gen.
ters. a community expected to reach
40 900 or more Is mushroomlng SO
fast that men and their families
live in trailers and shacks. Plans
for this community include adequate
housing.
But all-out production has re-
suited temporarily in a primitive
city, of no mean size, with only