A poll of general practitioners, recently splashed all over the newspapers, had most supporting charging patients up to £25 (€29; $39) a visit.1 The rationale runs like this. When something is free it isn’t valued. So patients don’t value doctors or our advice. Fees would stop the so called time wasters who abuse the system, reduce workload, free up time for deserving sick people, and, in the process, raise much needed income. A win-win, backslapping, punch-the-air and kiss-the-person-beside-you sort of good idea, isn’t it?⇑ Not really. Collecting money is expensive. In …