On the mode of selecting and remunerating medical men for professional attendance on the poor of a parish or district : read before the Hunterian Society / by Thomas Hodgkin.

Date:
1836
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the mode of selecting and remunerating medical men for professional attendance on the poor of a parish or district : read before the Hunterian Society / by Thomas Hodgkin. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    ON THE MODE OF SELECTING, &c. 8cc. The mode of selecting and remunerating medical men for profes- sional attention to the poor of a parish or district, is a subject o much more importance both to the public and to the medical pro- fession, than it appears to be generally regarded. When articles for food, clothing, or the like, are required to a large extent, the method of obtaining the supply by tender is doubt- less the fairest and most advantageous which can be employed, since if suitable persons are entrusted to select the contractor, and to see his bargain duly executed, the public may have the assurance, that their money is laid out in the most advantageous manner, and the unsuccessful candidates for the contract will feel that they were only rejected, because another could execute, as well as offer, better terms than they had tendered. With respect to medical attendance the public has at present no adequate means of testing the comparative value of advice offered, or of the amount of service rendered. The plan, therefore, of giving medical appointments to those who offer to attend the greatest number of patients, or to visit over the largest district for the smallest sum, will not, as in the case of corn, soap, or coals, insure the most profitable return for the amount paid, in making a medi- cal appointment, there is another difficulty, besides that of estimat- ing the value of the professional assistance given in return for the money paid. It is believed, both in and out of the profession, that the medical man who attends a parish or district, receives in return an indirect benefit in the form of reputation and connexion. The value of this indirect reward is of necessity absolutely uncertain, and it is almost always over-rated. The natural consequence of this is, that medical men in competing with each other, often pay little or no regard to the salary, the only really appreciable return for their services; and they may be, and often are out of pocket, if they secure their election, and gain the appointment. If the medical man so appointed faithfully discharge his duty, he is bearing an onerous burden without remuneration ; and it is no more reason- able to expect this more than gratuitous, this expensive service from the medical man, than it would be to expect from the butcher a regular supply of haunches of mutton for no other return than the hope that he may be able to sell the remainder of the sheep. It is too much to expect, that every medical man, who accepts a parish