HOSPITAL FEES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 266, 30 July 1918, Page 7

HOSPITAL FEES

BOARDS URGED TO COLLECT

MERE " ACCOUNTS RENDERED " OF NO USE Hospital boards are urged in the journal of the Deparlment for tho month to press for tho collodion of patients' foes. An article on iho .sul>jcot of "Patients and Fees" in the journal runs lis follows:— "Littlo apology is required for reverting to this time-worn topic. The cost of hospital and charitablo aid has increased so much during tho last two or three vijars that every means available should be adopted to meet such increased cost. Among the numerous matters 'brought to light at the recent conferoflco between tho Minister, tho Wellington and nawke's Bay Boards, and tho protesting contributory local authorities was tho fact that steps are not being lalieii ?>st'pmatically or energetically enough to collect Ihe fix's owing for treatment in hospitals. Many secretaries consider that tliey have dono all that is necessary it they periodically send out ' accounts rendered," accompanied in some cases by printed notices of a more or less threatoning nature, whilst other hoards do not even do this. We have already drawn attention to tho fact that printed notices per so are of very littlo value. »nd are incomparable in clfee-t with that of ft personal letter. It. has been argued Unit if a person will not pay there is no means to compel him. At I :he conference at Wellington, when the ( Minister emphatieally told Ihe board that they should overhaul thoir system of col eoting patients' paymentf, it was niged that poor pcoplo should not bo nuwlo to pay, and that the M.agisls-ates would not make them. This is besulo tho point, however, and no one expects people . distressed circumstances to lie dunn d and harassed with hospital accounts, in fact the amount of their account should be settled long before this stage and either have been written off or reduced lo meet their circumstances. l»o ]>oiUt we wish to make is that tho amount should never bo allowed to reach .'he <ta"e whore it devolves on a Magistrate to deeidc as to whether the person shall par or not. The timo to settle this is liefore tho patient goes in to hospital. A leading medical praclilionei, a memlMT of the honorary stall of onei of our largest hospitals, expressed lums.lC recently to tho effect that 98 per cent of the peonlo.who requiro tre-atment (al anv rate, as out-pationts) are in a position to "O into the matter of the charges aml enter into an iiiHlortatang in re-«-ird thereto before admission to t.ho institution, and that in serious eases the patient is invariably accompanied by frhnd or near relative, who is P'™ arel lo answer necessary questions, this is the time to deal with the account. A patient, who is expecting r, ".,°! ,01 " l l ° mul i- uncortain ns fo its result is imicu more likelv to tell the truth about lnm"Jlf and to. he willing to pay as much be i-nii reasonably be esnoctcd than nVtc-r his disohnrgo from tho hospital when his anxieties about his ph>sjcnl welfare have been allayed. Ihe mat _ .1 of the patient's aeeonnt having_ been thoroughly gone into before "W™; and the patient in many cases haun o lodged for safe euUody ' his cash and valuables with the secretary or other nir,eei\ ho should at tho timo of his dis-i-.har>'e be interviewed and made lo too the mark" with regard to hi? aCo ". nl J': It is at this time, and not two or ' t-linea months after his discharge, that the "'should be willed. In maiiv eases patients are unable to nay the account ' in full or even the amount of the ac-count-after it has been reduced to. .ntefc the needs of their ease, and Rio «ill"iß to undertake to pay so imic i per lieek or month. In such cases the pat ent should ho tat »» 5,,c11 and immediately at the expirahon ot Ihe a"i'ced p?nod, if he tails to pij. invthiii", prc.=snro should he brought to bear un"on him. The idea should not be allowed to get about among the public .that upon their discharge all t.ut i,s nceer-sarv for them, to do is lo make a promise to pay, tn.fl.ng to the pi'oba--1 i,iiity of such promise not bem 0 rn- ' forced."