One last word on the question which lies at the root of this matter—that of the medical etiquette which forbids the recommending of a doctor save by another medical man. On this point, Sir, I know I cannot expect to obtain the agreement of a medical journal—ex officio, you are bound to be against me; but you have many lay as well as professional readers, and to them I would say, Can you honestly say that it is not for the public interest, not for the greatest good of the greatest number, that information should be obtainable by uninstructed persons as to who are leading specialists, or, in the ordinary phrase, the “best people to go to,” in this or that medical emergency—I will not even say the best, but good people? To whom could such information do harm? And is it not the case that the single argument against it is the unworthy argument above commented on—the argument that such information might not be unprejudiced. That, Sir, can be urged against every kind of information whatsoever which is given to the public.
(BMJ 1902;i:486)