Report of the Royal Commission on National Health Insurance

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 1740277147

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-132094

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Report of the Royal Commission on National Health Insurance

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: Stationery Office

Year of publication:: 1926

Scope:: XII, 394 S.

Digitisation:: 2020

Collection:: Economics Books

Usage license:: Get license information via the feedback formular.

Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter X. Proposals for extending medical benefit

Collection:: Economics Books

134 MAJORITY REPORT. ER ——— the estimate is admitted to be highly conjectural, resting mainly on the personal impression of members of the Regional Medical Staff of the Ministry who have had extensive experience of general practice. The great difficulty of forming even an approximate estimate of the cost of these particular services arises, first, from the lack of data of the extent of the real need of them, and, secondly, from the difficulty of devising adequate safeguards against un- necessary calls for second opinions. It is obvious that without such safeguards a large cost might be incurred without corre- sponding advantage. For these reasons, we recommend that the working of the arrangements for the provision of a domiciliary consultant service should be closely watched by the Central Department, particularly in the early stages, to ensure that the system is not resorted to by lax or negligent practitioners in cases where no real doubt arises in regard either to diagnosis or treatment. LABORATORY AIDS TO DIAGNOSIS. 293. There appears to be a unanimous and strong desire for the provision of laboratory aids to diagnosis. Under this head are included :— (1) Microscopie, bacteriological, or chemical examina- tion of blood, fluids aspirated or otherwise obtained from the patient, such as cerebro-spinal, pleuritic and ascitic, urine, feces, sputum, vomit, pus, tumours and other tissues. (2) Tests of function, i.e., urea elimination, test meal. This list is exclusive of the examinations made for the preparation of autogenous vaccines, and of the examinations now undertaken by local authorities, i.e., examinations of diphtheria swabs, sputum for the tubercle bacillus, Widal reactions, and Wassermann reactions and other tests in connection with venereal disease. 294. If a scheme were being prepared for the provision of services for the whole population, it might be worth while to go into questions of possible organisation of a scheme of laboratories that would be newly provided where not already available. But when considering provision for insured persons only, we under- stand that there is no reason to suppose that contracts could not be made with existing laboratories for doing all the work. EsTiMATE oF COST OF LABORATORY AIDS. 295. As to cost, we understand that the estimates obtained from general practitioners of the prospective demand for such services have varied somewhat widely, and in some of them, sufficient account does not appear to have been taken of the considerable increase in the volume of work which would probably have to be undertaken, particularly if the service were associated with the provision of specialist clinical services. The ficures given converge towards about £5 per 1,000 insured per-

Access restriction

Copyright

fullscreen: Report of the Royal Commission on National Health Insurance

Monograph

Chapter

Table of contents

Download

Monograph

Chapter

This page

Image fragment

Citation links

Citation recommendation