Medical News

KANSAS CITY.

Dr. and Mrs. N. B. Winfrey will spend the coming year in travel.

Dr. W. J. Frick sailed from New York July 26th for a sojourn in Europe.

Dr. and Mrs. Jas. Y. Simpson are at Pelican Rapids, Minnesota, for the summer.

Dr. and Mrs. W. W. Ritchey left July 20th for six weeks on the Great Lakes.

Dr. and Mrs. Arthur G. Leonard are spending a three-weeks' outing in Colorado. Dr. and Mrs. J. F. Patterson left July 20th for a vacation at Estes Park, Colorado. Dr. and Mrs. H. D. McQuade are summering at Lake Augusta, Annandale, Minnesota.

Dr. and Mrs. T. Orlando Wheeler are spending vacation motoring out of Colorado Springs to points of interest.

Dr. John F. Binnie returned August 1st from the Mayos, where he was operated for infected gall bladder.

Dr. Gordon A. Beedle and Dr. H. H. Look sailed from New York July 16th for a trip to London, Paris and Berlin.

Dr. R. T. Sloan left August 1st for National Glazier Park. Later he goes to northern Minnesota on a fishing trip.

Drs. and Mrs Geo. E. Bellows left August 1st for a lake trip. Later they visit their brother, W. S. Bellows, at Fort Williams, reaching Kansas City September 1st.

ST. JOSEPH.

Dr. C. A. Potter, son of Dr. T. E. Potter, has located in St. Joseph.

Dr. O. B. Campbell and family are so jouring in Manitou, Colo.

Drs. C. A. Good and H. S. Forgrave will soon leave for an extended visit to the clinics of Europe.

Dr. A. H. Vandivert, formerly first assistant physician at the Hospital for the Insane, No. 2, at St. Joseph, has opened a suite of offices at the Lincoln Building, 7th and Felix streets, St. Joseph.

The St. Joseph-Buchanan-Andrew Co. Medical Society held a social session at the Elks Club on June 25th, when reports were heard from the A. M. A. meeting at Minneapolis. Those who spoke were Drs. P. I. Leonard, J. J. Bansbach, C. R. Woodson, O. G. Gleaves.. W. J. McGill, W. T. Elam, T. M. Paul, Floyd Spencer and J. H. McCoy. The meetings of the society will be resumed the first Wednesday in September.

Medical Miscellany

BUSINESS METHODS IN A PHYSICIAN'S OFFICE.*

Professional men are noted for the lack of up-to-date methods in the conduct of their business. Ministers, school teachers, lawyers and doctors are men, who, in the devotion to their chosen professions, have neglected to learn the essentials of business economy. The great majority of these men use little or no system in the conduct of their affairs.

The desks and offices of most professional men are mere conglomerate masses of books, papers, bills, letters, magazines, circulars, catalogues and a collection of every conceivable what-not, valuable and worthless, mixed together in an indefinable disregard of order or system. When out of

this chaos they are required to find some particular note or reference, let us turn aside in pity, for as ye sow, so shall ye reap.'

One of the flagrant offenders of the laws of business is the physician. He who can afford the least to lose either time or money is the one who is disregarding the most, the methods and conveniences of modern office practice. There is no more reason why a physician, because he is a professional man, should not apply system to his office, than there is why a manufacturer should not. What success would the Gillete razor have attained if Mr. Gillette had not put the latest business methods behind the latest invention for shaving? Because Mr. Gillette was an inventor, did that prevent him from being a business man? Does the fact that a doctor is a professional man prevent him from being systematic?

Let us start in first with the physicians' accounts. Ask five doctors how their collections are and four will say "Rotten." There is a reason for this, and this reason is not altogether with the physician's patrons, the physician himself is partly to blame. For example, Mr. M- has called in the family doctor to care for his wife. The doctor makes several calls, performs a minor operation, calls several more times, then Mrs. M-- makes several calls at his office and receives a prescription or two. In time, probably a month or six weeks later, Mr. M- gets a statement from the doctor reading thus: "To professional services for wife, $85.00."

What if this doctor had received in his morning's mail a statement from a local de

*Reprinted from the May issue of "The Willows Maga zine."

partment store, "To merchandise for wife, $85.00?" Would he have reached for his check book and started forward a check in full? Hardly. Still, the majority of physicians send to their patrons just such unintelligible statements as quoted. The physicians' patrons have just as much right to an itemized statement of account for services as has the physician for an itemized account from his merchant.

There have been several convenient and easily kept account books designed especially for the physicians to keep itemized records of their charges to patrons. These books are inexpensive and if more doctors would render detailed statements of their charges, there would be less talk of "Doctors charging you all they think you can pay." Too few people realize just how much actual time and effort was taken in their

care.

Irregularity in the presentation of accounts is another serious drawback to collections. There is also as little reason why a physician should fail to render his accounts regularly on the first of every month as there is why a merchant or public utility should neglect to do so. A physician may say to himself, "What's the use, they won't have any money till they harvest in the fall." Probably not, but your statement coming at regular intervals keep your claim before them and when they do get money, your bill will be paid without the hard feeling sometimes caused by personal dunning.

Letter and catalogue filing is another part of office system much neglected by doctors. For many medical men filing is simplified to two divisions, the pigeon hole and the waste basket. Too often the future value of the knowledge contained in a letter is overlooked in its present seeming irrelevance to matters at hand. It often happens that several months after relegating some particular letter to waste basket oblivion, the doctor remembers that it gave him just the desired information he needs for the relief of a patient he now has, and try to recollect as he will, the needed knowledge or prices it contained have been forgotten. The delay of further correspondence is inevitable.

To pigeon hole a letter is nearly as bad as to waste basket it. The favorite method employed by a devotee of this method is, after reading and finding something of value in his letter, to carefully fold and replace in its regular envelope, hesitate a moment before deciding which of the sixteen or more already crowded pigeon holes is to receive this particular document.

Then with a mental, "I'll know where this is when I want it," proceed to crowd it in with dozens of other envelopes which had been deposited in their dusty tombs with the same mental resolve to remember when needed. A month later finds this believer in simplified filing diligently searching the entire sixteen pigeon holes in an attempt to locate this particular letter while his patron has plenty of time to wonder how a doctor so unsystematic in his own affairs can be expected to be systematic in the treatment of his patients.

But

It of course goes without saying that a physician should never send out a business letter without keeping an exact copy of it. If written on a typewriter it is a simple matter to make a carbon copy of it. many doctors do not have typewriters and they are the ones who in writing their letters by hand do not keep copies. A simple method for making copies of pen-written letters is by what is commercially known as a Pen Carbon Letter Book." They are bound books of strong tissue paper just the size of a letter sheet and furnished with sensitive carbon paper to take the impression of the pen. They can be had from any good stationer for about thirty-five cents.

Catalogue filing, though not so important as letter filing, is still of such importance as to require a little time and study. In these days of big advertising appropriations, manufacturing concerns, pharmaceutical houses and sanitariums publish and send to the physician expensive and valuable catalogues and descriptive booklets. This matter is gotten out expressly for the medical fraternity. Its value to anyone else is practically nil, but to the physician there is hardly an advertising booklet or catalogue which comes to his desk that either at the time of receipt or within a few months does not contain description or prices of some needed instrument, medicine or sanitarium.

Advertising is business news. Medical advertising is necessarily medical news, and brings to the busy practitioner the latest word from the big firms who are specializing in the needs of his profession. To destroy such literature after a hasty glance shows less foresight than that of up-to-date commercial houses, which maintain special files for keeping catalogues and relevant advertising matter. A careful and systematic filing of these booklets and catalogues for future reference will allow a physician to have at his finger tips desired information when occasion arises for its need.

In the matter of systematic filing of letters and catalogues, there are several meth

ods to follow, the size of the physician's mail and the amount to be expended should govern the choice. Successful filing must be simplified and still furnish a ready means of reference. The filing of letters by the physician whose mail is limited to less than ten or twelve letters a week is best accomplished by means of box files, alphabetically arranged. Each file being used for a period of six months or a year as the correspondence warrants. These files can be purchased for thirty or thirty-five cents. Separate files of the same inexpensive style will hold his advertising matter and catalogues, also alphabetically ar ranged.

For the practitioner receiving more mail or one who desires more modern and serviceable equipment, a cabinet such as the one illustrated is particularly desirable. It is what is known as the upright sectional filing cabinet and can be secured in various combinations of drawers. The one shown is so arranged as to conveniently handle blank forms, card records, correspondence and catalogues.

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There are six shallow drawers at the top in which can be arranged for conveniently finding the necessary legal forms, such as birth, death and contagious disease reports; also letter-heads, account blanks, prescription pads, etc. The next section contains four card index drawers. In these can be kept record cards, 5x3 inches. It offers a convenient method of keeping accounts, case records and reference index. large drawers at the bottom of the file are used for letters and catalogues.

The two

The filing of the letters in this kind of a drawer is by the upright method. Each letter is opened out and filed in folders by either alphabetical or geographical arrangement. In this manner any letter can be located at once. If a copy of the answer is attached to each letter, the result is gratifying for a quick reference.

These filing cabinets are manufactured by several different factories and the prices range from about $17 to $25. Furniture and stationery stores in the larger cities. carry them in stock.

the public demands efficiency of the medical man and this he can better give if his office routine is systematically handled. These suggestions will facilitate keeping and collecting accounts, and the ready reference to correspondence or catalogues. The expense involved can be limited to the requirements of each individual physician and still afford him the necessary system to properly care for his office papers in a business-like manner.

Homes for Boys Wanted.

We have on hand a very fine lot of boys of all ages from one month to twelve years of age. We are putting them out in carefully selected homes. They are placed on three months' trial. All it cost to get one is the transportation. References required. For terms address Rev. C. C. Stahmann, Margaretta and Newstead avenues, St. Louis, Mo., State Superintendent of the Children's Home Society.

Dr. James E. Sawtelle, Kansas City, has succeeded Dr. F. A. Carmichael, Goodland, as a member of the Medical Board of Examiners and Registration.

Dr. Lyman L. Uhls, superintendent of the Kansas City Hospital, Osawatomie, has resigned and will open a private sanatorium at Oberlin Park, near Kansas City.

The Atchison County (Kas.) Medical Society was reorganized at Atchison, May 5, and officers elected: President Dr. M. T. Dingess; secretary-treasurer, Dr. E. T. Shelly, both of Atchison.

Physicians of Clark, Scotland and Schuyler Counties organized the Fifth District Medical Association at Memphis, June 24, and elected the following officers: President, Dr. A. E. Platter, Memphis; vicepresidents, Drs. B. B. Porter, Lancaster, and W. B. Sisson, Kahoka; secretary, Dr. E. E. Parrish, Memphis, and treasurer, Dr. E. E. Mitchell, Lancaster.

Sir Jonathan Hutchinson one of the most eminent surgeons of England, died at his home in Haslemere, June 23, aged 84. Mr. Hutchinson was president of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1889-90, Hunterian professor in the Royal College of Surgeons, member of the Royal Commission on Smallpox Hospitals in 1884 and of the Royal Commission on Vaccination in 1890-96. He was knighted in 1908. He was a frequent contributor to the literature of surgery and

L

Hay Fever, both acute and chronic, is being successfully combated with respirazone. Those of the profession not familiar with the article may obtain a free sample by writing to The Tilden Company, New Lebanon, N. Y., or St. Louis, Mo. This is one of the very reliable prescriptions in hay fever and asthma and has rendered valuable service.

You Can See New York City in a Day.-The Green car automobile trips uptown, downtown, "Seeing New York after Dark, and the yacht trip around the city is the most perfect sight-seeing service in the world. A lecturer with every party. Write for illustrated descriptive folder.

Green Car Company, S. E. corner 23d street and Broadway, New York City.

The Pallid School Girl.-In view of the modern methods of education, which force the scholar at top speed, it is not to be wondered at that the strenuous course of study prescribed for the adolescent girl more than frequently result in a general break down of both health and spirits. Each summer the physician is consulted in such cases and almost always finds the patient anemic, nervous and more or less devitalized. In most instances a rest of a week or two, together with an efficient tonic, enables the patient to take up her school work again with renewed energy. Pepto-Mangan (Gude) is just the hematinic needed, as it acts promptly to increase the red cells and hemoglobin, and to tone up the organism generally. It is particularly suitable for young girls because it never induces or increases constipation.

The Safe Bichloride Tablet.-Among all classes of patients and even among members of the medical profession, each year death claims it toll from accidental or indiscriminate use of bichloride of mercury tablets. The means to avert error are largely in the hands of those who prescribe or dispense bichloride tablets and the most reasonable assurance of safety lies in recommending tablets that minimize the danger to the user and are surrounded by the most reasonable safeguards. "Diamond Antiseptics," the trade name for the bichloride tablets manufactured by Eli Lilly & Company, meet the requirements that are highly efficient and safe for him to use in his practice and at the same time afford his patients the greatest possible protection. These tablets are hand molded, rough to the touch and disinte

grate rapidly and wholly. They are of diamond shape and are distinctly marked "Poison." In addition they are packed in conspicuously labeled, diamond shaped bottles with serrated edges, a warning manifested to the most careless, even in the dark. The safeguards thrown around these tablets are an anticipation of legal requirements for public safety and are worthy the physician's insistance on the Lilly brand "Diamond Antiseptics" in ordering or prescribing bichloride of mercury tablets.

The Hypersusceptibility of Children to Opium. -The hypersusceptibility of children to opium is one of the most potent reasons for employing a substitute in its place in the treatment of diseases of children. It has been found that papine (Battle) is well borne by children to whom opium or morphine was intolerable, but when it is remembered that in the manufacture of papine through a special process, the narcotic and convulsive elements of opium have been eliminated, the reason for this point of papine's superiority over opium, will be well understood. Papine (Battle), as is well known, is a product of opium subjected to a process which while retaining the analgesic and sedative properties of the drug, separates from it its objectionable qualities, leaving the finished product of more than ordinary worth as an opiate for use in children.

Chronic Catarrhal Disease.-Chronic catarrh never fails to indicate general constitutional debility. Local treatment is always desirable but for permanent results efforts must be directed toward promoting general functional activity throughout the body, and a general increase of systemic vitality. The notable capacity of Gray's glycerine tonic comp. in this direction readily accounts for the gratifying results that can be accomplished through its use in the treatment of all chronic catarrhal affections, but especially those of the_gastro-intestinal canal and respiratory tract. The particularly gratifying features in the results accomplished by Gray's glycerine tonic comp. are their substantial and permanent character. This is naturally to be expected since they are brought about through restoring the physiologic balance of the whole organism.

In all inflammatory conditions, the pain, burn. ing or tearing in nature, with an intolerable desire to urinate, constitutes a guide-post to the exhibition of cantharidin.

Should be the Physician's first thought in

HAY FEVER AND ASTHMA Either Acute or Chronic

Manufacturing Pharmacists and Chemists
ST. LOUIS, MO.

"Pluto," the ideal laxative and cathartic; no disagreeable after-effects.

Dunbar's Serum Therapy in Hay Fever. From recent literature received, we note that this meritorious treatment, heretofore only presented in powder and liquid form is now supplemonted by a third preparation, i.e., pollantin ointment.

Therapy of Nervous Headaches.-The advantages of pasadyne (Daniel), the concentrated tincture of passiflora incarnata, as a means of relief in headaches of a nervous type are so marked that it seems to warrant the distinction of being put in a class by itself. In this condition, pasadyne (Daniel) not only soothes the cephalalgia but also exerts a potent force on the nervous element so noticeable in these cases. may be given to women and children without causing unpleasant symptoms, oftentimes a feature of other agents. A sample bottle for trial may be had by addressing the laboratory of John B. Daniel, Atlanta, Ga.

It

Artificial Limbs in the Canal Zone. For many years the Marks artificial legs and arms have held a position of supremacy, not alone in America, but throughout the civililed world, surgeons have learned by experience that in recommending the Marks limbs their patients are sure to get good results, and recover the use of their limbs. Another demonstration of the absolute reliability of the Marks limbs has recently been been in the construction work of the Panama Canal, where many workmen wearing Marks artificial limbs are required to stand for hours in several feet of water. The manufacturers have used this recent testimony to the merit of their limbs in an illustrated announcement which appears for the first time in this issue.

Heart Weakness.—Hardly any of the patients who consult the general practitioner give him more worry and trouble than those who come to him complaining of "heart weakness." Careful examination, while disclosing no organic lesion, almost always shows varying degrees of functional disturbance. Palpitation, arrhymia, precordial pain, dyspnea, and a wide variety of other symptoms are present most of the time to keep the patient in a state of constant apprehension.

How difficult it usually is to give these heart sufferers complete and permanent relief is only too well known by physicians who are constantly

NURSES.

meeting such cases. Obviously, at the very outset, it is essential to remove all contributory causes as completely as possible. The digestive and eliminative functions call for appropriate treatment, and especial attention should be directed to the diet. Bad habits, such as excessive indulgence in alcoholic beverages, tea, coffee. tobacco, or narcotic drugs, must be corrected and a patient's whole manner of living placed on as nearly normal basis as possible.

For the heart itself, a mild tonic is needed, one that will act as a bracer and at the same time regulate its action. Cactina pillets meet this need most acceptably, and the results that promptly follow its administration readily account for its widespread popularity as a safe and dependable cardiac tonic. Under its use the palpitation and irregular action so uniformly complained of by those with functional heart disorders, are soon corrected. Cardiac pain and other subjective symptoms are likewise removed, and as the heart's action is restored to its normal frequency and rhythm, the patient's worries and fears rapidly disappear.

Cactina pillets are especially serviceable for correcting the functional weakness and derangement that often attends the use of tobacco-the tobacco heart-and the whole train of startling symptoms tachycardia, irregularity, sudden faintness, precordial pain, etc., are overcome with a promptness that is always exceedingly gratifying to the patient.

Unlike many heart remedies, cactina pillets can be administered without the slightest fear of cumulative effect. It has no contra-indications, moreover, and clinical experience has conclusively shown that it can be used under any and all conditions with implicit confidence, not only in its freedom from harmful or unpleasant effects, but equally in its capacity to accomplish marked and far-reaching benefits.

In 1 or 2 per cent solutions phenol can be used to irrigate suppurating wounds, to moisten dressings of infected wounds, as a vaginal douche in infections of the vagina, uterus or tubes, and as a deodorant in cancer of the uterus. In this strength it may be used alone or in combination with other drugs as a mouth wash and gargle.

A 5 per cent solution of phenol is an efficient germicide and in weaker solutions retards and prevents bacterial growth.

Telephone No.

Main 1173

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6326

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