PAPERS ON MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH 455 



patient the physician is required to report a summary of 

 hi*s treatment, condition of patient on discharge, and com- 

 plications. All this infonnation is summarized, and 

 indexed for future reference, for other physicians read- 

 mitting the same patient and for the compiling of hos- 

 pital reports. 



It has always been the attitude of the hospital that 

 beyond these requirements the information which a phy- 

 sician obtains from his patient relative to his condition 

 is a confidential matter, and should only be placed in the 

 records as the physician might desire. 



St. John's Hospital has been one of the leaders in the 

 matter of providing laboratory and X-Ray facilities, and 

 through this department the hospital has not only met 

 the demands for better scientific work, but has also been 

 able to furnish the physician a means of meeting the de- 

 mand for group medicine, and to a certain extent the de- 

 mand for municipal clinics. The laboratoiy is so equip- 

 ped that the physician can arrange to have whatever as- 

 sistance he desires, from the bending of a test tube to 

 the work necessary for a complete clinical study. The 

 fees are so reasonable that clinical groups can better af- 

 ford to patronize the laboratory at the hospital than 

 maintain their own organization of this kind. This de- 

 partment also furnishes a center for conference and con- 

 sultations. In addition to the already mentioned facili- 

 ties, a free dispensary is in operation, which is main- 

 tained by the county, and where daily free clinics are 

 held and where indigent patients are treated. With this 

 sort of an arrangement, so flexible, so democratic, so con- 

 venient, available to every citizen through his physician, 

 we believe we are able to meet the demands of group 

 medicine, of the Municipal Hospital and of the highest 

 standard of service. 



The basic principles underlying this service are : 



1. The St. John's Hospital is owned and conducted 

 by the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis, who welcome all 

 physicians that can give satisfactoiy proof of being in 

 good standing in their profession. 



