"AN APPLE A DAY . . ."

A recent address before the New England regional convention of the Association of Medical Students by the noted surgeon, Dr. Hugh Cabot, on group practice gives cause for serious reflection concerning the role of the individual physician in the society of tomorrow. Just as our modern high speed motor ambulances are a far cry from the jolting buggy of the Old Country Doctor, so vast changes have taken place in the methods of medical diagnosis and treatment. No longer can the family physician carry in his little black bag all the equipment needed to restore his sick neighbor to health. He must, in many cases, rely for assistance on trained specialists, familiar with the latest advances in technical research. As a corollary to this increased specialization in medical science, the trend towards group practice, first introduced some twenty-five years ago by the Mayo brothers, tends to be increasingly pronounced.

With doctors realizing as never before the importance of preventive and curative measures in the control of disease, group practice offers numerous advantages over the individual physician. Under this new system, it is easy for a case to receive a complete diagnosis by experts in several fields. Although the personal relationship between physician and patient suffers in group practice, the saving in time and cost more than counterbalances this loss. The enormous reduction in overhead expense, caused by the elimination of duplication in laboratory equipment and office space, can serve both to make possible lower fees for patients and a relatively higher and more stable income for the physician.

It is among the lower income groups of the population, particularly in the rural areas, that collective medicine finds its most crying need. While state hospitals and charitable institutions have made enormous strides in the past, more frequent medical care in virtually every part of the country is a sine qua non for a rise in the standards of national health. Only through well-equipped clinics, which in many cases will have to receive state subsidies, can our humbler citizens afford expert, specialized consultation. Those who furiously denounce all group practice as "undemocratic" and "socialistic" are still living in the Horse and Buggy Days. Only by efficient, economical use of the new weapons at its disposal can the medical profession march on to new triumphs in its ceaseless struggle against disease.