Attitudes of the public to medical care: Part 8, "Non-Medical" Practitioners

A random sample of respondents in Dunedin and Auckland was surveyed to obtain details of utilisation of various aspects of health services and also opinions and knowledge of these services: a section of the survey dealt with "non-medical doctors". A miniority of respondents or their families had made use of such services (13.2 percent) in the previous five years, compared to 47.1 percent utilising medical specialist services and almost 100 percent utilising general practitioner services in the same period. The number of items of services for one patient with one consulting cause was high. The mean being just under eight and in one fifth of cases was 15 or more. Most respondents considered that the services of non-medical practitioners could sometimes be useful and one-third would consider consulting such practitioners themselves, although most would consult an orthodox doctor first. Only one-fifth of respondents were willing to see Government financial support for non-medical practitioners.