Medical Benefits

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26196, 21 August 1950, Page 6

Medical Benefits

When the Minister of Health (Mr Watts) gave effect on April 1 to the Medical Practitioners Amendment Act providing for certain new measures of discipline in the medical profession, he said he was concerned because there were not sufficient powers to tfeal with flagrant abuses of social security medical benefits. Regulations gazetted on Thursday make good the deficiencies along the lines discussed by Mr Watts with the British Medical Association earlier this year. The act gave the Medical Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee (all the members of which are doctors) power to inflict substantial fines for professional

misconduct. The regulations give the Minister the additional power, on the recommendation of the committee, to exclude any doctor from participation in payments from the Social Security Fund. It is satisfactory that Mr Watts has taken wider power to punish, and so prevent, social security abuses; it is even more satisfactory that he is able to do so with the good will of the doctors, who will themselves see to keeping the discipline that the profession recognises is desirable. At first sight the regulation requiring doctors to keep complete records may seem to involve them in much irritating paper work. However, doctors who do their work thoroughly already keep records that should meet the legal requirement, so that the main effect will be to call for the same standard of thoroughness from other doctors. The general public should note that under the regulations they are i obliged not to make unnecessary i demands on doctors. Taken in con--1 junction with the provisions of the act and the co-operation of the British Medical Association, the regulations should go a long way towards freeing the social security scheme from the few grasping doctors who have abused it and from the unreasonable demands of some patients. It is, perhaps, of greater -importance that they will do something for the maintenance of professional standards.