The effect of this system is equally admirable upon the members of my medical staff, for our efforts are devoted not to keeping the patient as long as possible for the purpose of increasing revenue but to getting rid of him as quickly as possible, so that the profit will be relatively large. That it is to his advantage as well as to mine to see that the treatment is complete and effective before the patient leaves is obvious. These methods take into consideration my own and my patient's psychology. A man who deals with this type of patient needs every advantage which he can get, for invariably he is dealing with abnormalities. PHYSICAL DEFECTS REVEALED BY TREATMENT The treatment itself is certain to uncover these abnormalities, revealing whether or not they are due to physical causes. It becomes very quickly evident if there is any real physical reason why a patient is not eligible for treatment, as in the case of an incurable and painful physical ailment. No matter how careful and frank a patient's statements may be or how elaborate the diagnosis that his physician has transmitted to me, no matter how elaborately careful are the preliminary examinations made by my own physician, it is not until the drug has been entirely eliminated that we find it possible to make a really intelligent diagnosis. The symptoms of disease, however, are sure to appear before the first part of the treatment is completed. It is a standard policy of my hospital at once to inform a patient who has proved to be physically ineligible, and to return to him his fee. This method of procedure has made us careful before accepting patients to study their histories, for, naturally, we do not wish to do even preliminary work and then return the fee in full. We accept no patient for treatment until we are provided with a careful and detailed history of his case, and it is upon a large collection of such histories that I have based many of the theories embodied in the subject matter of this book. It is especially these detailed histories which have enabled me to fix with some accuracy of judgment the circumstances leading up to the formation of most drug habits. In our invariable practice of returning the fee and discharging the patient whom we find ineligible for treatment we have surely taken a step in advance. There is scarcely an institution of this sort in the United States to which a patient might write, "I am taking drugs," without receiving in reply the invitation, "Come to us, and we will treat you," implying that they will give the treatment whether or not an examination of the patient shows that he is one who can benefit from it. THE DUTY OF THE MEDICAL PROFESSION