influence your regular patrons to pay more promptly. It will also help to keep away those who trespass upon your time and never pay you. The only sure way to hold practice is to require your patrons to pay their bills promptly. If they do not owe you they are not so liable to avoid you and cease to employ you. Let a family once get greatly in arrears, then it will happen that—not having the cheek to face you—they will call another physician, and give every reason but the true one for deserting you. Thus, through your own neglect you lose patronage, friends and your good name and reputation. The public will never place any higher value on your services than you do yourself. The death-knell of any physician's success is tolled when he becomes known as a "cheap doctor."

Not only must you require others to pay you, but you must also pay your own bills. Physicians, as a rule, are considered poor pay by business men. It is a very good rule in life to discount all bills that you owe, and never to discount a bill due you. Make it a rule to never owe any man anything, and to have as few owe you as possible.

Many physicians will cut their bills to whatever the debtor cares to pay. In this way they lose a large part of their fees, and achieve the reputation of being poor business men.

I heard an old Arkansas doctor relate his experience in discounting a bill that well illustrates the weakness of many physicians. A client owed him $60, and after the account had run about six months, the man came in and said, "Doc, I hain't got the money, but if you will cut that bill in two I'll borrow it from my father-in-law." The doctor thought $30 would be better than waiting, so agreed. Three months later the man returned and said, "Doc, I couldn't get the money from my father-in-law, but I have a fat hog I can sell and get some money if you will cut that bill in two." The account was growing old and the doctor thought he had better take the $15, so he said all right. Six months from that time the fellow hove in view again. This time he said, "Doc, my wife thought we needed that hog for meat and I couldn't get her consent to sell it, but I have a job now, and if you will cut that bill in two, I'll pay you." This time the doctor thought he saw $7.50 in sight, so again he agreed. "All right, Doc," said the debtor, "as soon as I get in a few weeks work, I'll be in and pay you." The doctor said the fellow did come around a few months later and began a similar story, but he told him to go to a country where rotary snow plows are not much in demand.

One of the greatest mistakes is in allowing accounts for different cases to accumulate until the amount becomes so large that it is difficult to pay. It is always best to require settlement as soon after each case is dismissed as possible. In sending statements, be careful to itemize by cases only, as "John, fever, $15," "Wife, confinement, $25," etc. I seldom give the disease unless it is some special case that required much attention. In some cases it refreshes their memory when reference is made to the disease.

You must know your business. Give every man a square deal, and require others to do the same by you. When you have completed your work, remember the advice of old Prof. Joslyn, "Get money, still get money, boy, no matter by what means" so long as it is justly due you for services rendered. If you fail to require your patrons to pay you for your services, you have not done your full duty.

CHAPTER II

ATTITUDE TOWARD DEBTORS.

A fundamental principle in being a good collector is to never lose the good will of your patrons. So long as you are on friendly terms with a man you can approach him and talk over the matter. It will be easy to keep advised as to what he is doing, and when he is expecting to receive money. The time will come sometime when he can pay at least a part or secure your claim. We must not lose sight of the fact that in this country poor men sometimes become rich, and rich men sometimes become poor, and we should deal with them accordingly. It is poor business policy to permit well-to-do clients to run up big bills, and at the same time hound your poor patrons.

One of the easiest ways to collect a bill, when they have persistently failed to pay, is to loan them some money. This plan is fully covered in the following editorial from Davis' Magazine of Medicine.

"Let us now consider the investment of the doctor's savings. His fees are received in small sums, generally ranging from a few dollars to a hundred dollars at a time. He seldom has over a few hundred dollars on hand at any one time. And failing to find a good place to invest such sums as he has, he becomes a prey for the stock companies and the land sharks, where he can make his investment on the installment plan. Most physicians are earnestly seeking a safe investment for these small sums of money, but very few have found a plan that appeals to them. Most of the advice one gets from the journals is 'Don't' or to invest in farm mortgages. When he looks around for a farm mortgage he finds that the small amount of money he has to loan will not meet the requirements of the man who desires the loan. Even should he find a small loan that he could handle, the interest would be so low, that it would produce a very small income after paying taxes. I believe the doctor's earnings should net him ten per cent, and be in such form that he can realize on them in case of emergency. To take chances on getting a greater rate of interest would be to accept too great risk, and a less rate would be poor business policy.

"The problem simmers down to about this: How can we invest small sums, from twenty-five to one hundred dollars, so they will be safe, and earn at least ten per cent interest?"

I solved this problem several years ago while engaged in general country practice. In fact, it can be applied better in the country than in the city. The plan is this, loan your money to your slow pay patrons. Sounds risky, don't it? I have found it to prove a success. I learned that most of my poor pay or slow pay patrons were always ready to borrow money, and that they could generally secure me with chattel mortgages, or get good men to sign their notes. The note and mortgage always covered the amount loaned and the amount of my bill. There are few who cannot give you suitable security, and these few should be turned over to the other doctor who is practicing for the love and honor of the profession.

"When it is known that you have a little money loaned out, and that you will only loan to those who have you for their physician, your practice will steadily grow."

Be on your guard and do not permit your old accounts to become "outlawed" by the statutes of limitations of your State. This may be prevented in a measure by getting a small payment from time to time on account, as the law of limitations does not apply until the lapse of the period of time named in the law, after the last payment on the account or note.

The exemption laws of most states are so liberal that a very small per cent. of physician's bills could be collected by law, should the debtor elect to take advantage of the exemption law. The only safe method is to put it up to your client as a debt of honor, and depend upon their inherent honesty and pride. It does no good to sue a man for a doctor bill except in extreme cases. You will lose more than you will gain. Not only will you in all probability lose the account and expenses, but you will make a lot of enemies, who will injure your practice more than the amount of the bill.

Treat your poor patrons with the same respect and courtesy that you do