DOCTORS PROFITEER?

Greymouth Evening Star, 6 October 1945, Page 2

DOCTORS PROFITEER?

ALLEGATIONS IN HOUSE UNNECESSARY VISITS WELLINGTON, October 5, In the House, to-day, Mr J. Acland (Nat., Temuka), speaking to the vote of £5,192,000 for medical, hospital and other benefits, asked what was the Minister going to do in regard to misdemeanours by some medical practitioners, and abuses by patients of benefits. How would doctors be checked from making unnecessary calls? Mr Nordmeyer said it was tremendously hard for the Department to prove over-visiting against doctors. It was possible to suspect cases of over-visiting, and the Department did have suspicions in a number of cases. It was a matter of conscience so far as the doctor was concerned. In view of abuses of the fee-for-service scheme, the Government was most seriously contemplating whether that system should continue. Discussions were to take place next week with the B.M.A. For a long time there had been a disinclination on the part of the British Medical Association to meet the Government. Doctors had taken up the attitude, when the scheme was introduced, that it was inimical to their interests, but he (the Minister), thought they realised now that such was not the case.

Dealing with over-prescribing, the Minister said doctors themselves were the only ones to decide if a patient needed a prescription. It was true that some doctors not only overprescribed, but prescribed unneces-sarily-expensive ingredients. One prescription had come to the Department showing ingredients to the value of £ll. The Department had taken measures to discipline those doctors whose prescriptions appeared to indicate that they had overprescribed, or had prescribed unnecessarily expensive ingredients. Mr Clyde Carr (Govt., Timaru) said some doctors were “driving a coach and six through the Act.” Mr Polson (Nat., Stratford) said a weakness in the Act was that it had led to over-hospitalisation. Too many people were sent to hospital who should be treated by clinics or by district nurses, or in their own homes. Mr Morton (Nat., Waitemata) said he wished to protest against the suggestion of the Minister and the others that the doctors were paying more visits than were necessary. The* doctors had been doing an enormously difficult job with the utmost efficiency under exceedingly difficult circumstances. The profession had never been more overworked than at present, and it ill-behoved any member of the House to say doctors had failed to fulfil their mission under the Social Security Act. The Minister of Supply (Mr Sullivan) said the increase in the cost, of pharmaceutical benefits was partly due to the fact that, whereas doctors previously prescribed drugs according to the pocket of their clients, they were now able to prescribe more powerful and efficient remedies, which, however, cost more.

DEARER PRESCRIPTIONS Mr Nordmeyer said that as fax- as pharmaceutical benefits were concerned, it was interesting that in 1941, 50 per cent, of all the doctors’ prescriptions cost less than 2/-, but in' 1944 that percentage had fallen to 10.7 per cent. In 1941 only .44 of the prescriptions cost between 10/- and £l, but in 1944 that percentage was 5.1. Those figures indicated substantial increases which had taken place in the actual costs of prescriptions, largely due to price increases in overseas ingredients. Mi- Nordmeyer said that at present there was nothing to prevent any doctor m Now Zealand calling himself a specialist, but he thought it desirable that certain standards should be complied with before a man had the right to set himself up as a specialist, and he was going to discuss this mattex- with representatives of the medical profession. The Government intended to do everything possible to encourage patients to be treated in theii- own homes when posssibe. The Minister said he understood negotiations between the Nurses’ Association and Hospital Boards’ Association had resulted in an agreement on a new scale of salaries, providing certain increases, and that scale was now before the Stabilisation Commission. The Government, last year, had agreed to subsidise such organisations as W.D.F.U., which were providing domestic assistance in homes. The plan was at present before the Government, and he hoped a Cabinet decision would be reached early next week, which would extend this scheme considerably, and would make a certain Government Department responsible for the administration of it, and for its exten. sion at any rate, in the cities and larger towns. Mr Denham (Goxd., Invercargill) instancing the abuse of the scheme by some patients, said recently a certain doctoi’ received an urgent cah> to discover that a patient, a lady, had been to a very sad picture the previous week. All the doctor could do was to advise her not to go to any more sad pictures, but the visit cost the State 12/6. Mr Denham said the only remedy he could see fox abuse of the scheme was an extension of the nursing service such as practised in the Hokianga district. The vote was passed. NAVIGATION SCHOOL WELLINGTON, October 5. Discussing a Marine Department vote of £206,378 in the House of Representatives, Mr Lowry advocated the establishment of a navigation school at Wellington, and asked if favourable consideration would be given proposals to take over the barque Pamir as a training ship for New Zealand. Mr O’Brien said a school of navigation would be established in Wellington when sufficient students were obtained. There had been rnany suggestions for the future use of the Pamir, including one. that about 40 cadets should be placed on board it, and given four years’ training. However, the nautical authorities advised against that course, saying that even if men were trained under sail they would require an equal period of training undex- steam. Mr O Brien said the ship would be used in the best possible way. The House adjourned at 5.30 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Monday.