The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-10-30
FATAL PRESCRIPTIONS.
Criminal Carelessness OF
Some Doctors.
A DANGEROUS PRACTICE.
The Drugei,ts Are Weary Of Having Mis-
takes Laid at Their Doors and Are
Harboring Evidences.
A DANGEROUS PRACTICE.
Why did he dep

This is question that puzzles relatives
and friends of those who suddenly depart
this life day after day.
The public generally do not care rap.
The doctor ana the druggist may know.
however, but they never tell.
In one case out of a thousand the atten-
ton of the Coroner is solicited, and If an
autopsy shows that the fatal result was
caused py poisonous compound put up by
a druggist the latter gets the full beneht OF
the odium which attaches to his alleged
neglect.
II the compounder be clerk he is dis
charged summarily, and Is thereafter ostra-
cized by his profession as pharmacist
II the proprietor himself has put up the
deadly prescription he is compelled to shut
up shop, as the newspaper notoriety given
him effectually ruins his business.
Nothing is ever said of the doctor who
wrote the prescription. He is entirely sale
and out of harms way, because he inVarl-
ably gets hold of his written directions Tor
the deaoction and with his own hand de-
stTOyS IL.
Then again the physician always receives
a commission from tile druggist, and the
moment the latter threatens an expose Inc
former takes his trade away and directs hls
patients TO another diSpensaTy, giving as a
reason that the store he formerly patroniZed
did not keep fresh drugs.
Many drug clerks, who have been driven
from their places in consequence OF acct
dents, are found working as aboTeTs, and
there are a number 10 be found In the en-
ploy Of street railways.
One of these is en- the HOward-street
eable-road, in the capacity OF conductor
He was telling CALL representative how
he happened TO give up the drug business.
You see," he remarked. Il was called
I'D at midnight to ILL prescription. Being
sleepy, and seeing the name OF we'll
known doctor signed TO II. L followed IT,
The next morning looked at the prescrlp-
ton and found that l had put uD deadly
potion. AS | was reading 1t the doctor came
in with fire in his eye. lie was frantic and
yelled to me, DO you know what you have
done? You have committed murder that
child is dead!
81 should think so.' said l. Here IS
your prescription, which | followed. 1t IS
enough to kill half a dozen men, lie
grabbed the paper from my hand, read it
quickly and tore it up. He had made
mistake 10 the quantity of laudanum.
"'What did you tear that up forp l
asked. 81 wanted that as evidence In the
event of an investigation.
The physician almost tainted and only
asked that l should be quiet, for heavens
sake as it would ruin him.
1.-THE baby was only g months OF age. He
signed the death certificate, giving the cause
of death as cholera infantum, and the little
one was buried without even the parents
knowing that death was the result If crimi-
nal carelessness on the part Of the attending
doctor.
Il was not allowed 10 touch prescrip-
ton Of this man, although l had corrected
hundreds of his mistakes before At the
expiration OF two weeks / was discharged,
without any reason being given whatever.
l. Hrnr 1rgar To-
employment | was told that they had been
informed that l was incompetent and very
dangerous as a mixer Of medicines, though
had served twelve years in the business"
Then you could get no employment at
your business in the city?'
None whatever. or | would not be on this
car today" he answered. Just call on a
few druggists and you will find that they
have preserved prescriptions which, II they
had been followed, would have killed the
patient, but, being skilled in their business,
they knew what the physician meant
though be had written wrong ingredients"
The suggestion was acted upon, and sew
| eral prominent drugstOres were visited.
! Those in attendance were very backward
| in talking about such matters, but the re-
| porter had a personal acquaintance with
! many Of the clerks. some OF whom showed
scores OF prescriptions that were as deadly
! as prussic acid in their effects upon human
being All Of them were written by we'll
known practitioners.
A well-known physician. whose name the
druggist covered with his hand, wrote this
billet doux for al infant:
Hydr chlOr .gr vii
Pu v jaliope or.
Soda bicArb Ii
Sig. Take powder every SIX hours.
In this compound the doctor had writer
| hydrargrum chloride corrosive, which is o
| knew that it would kill an adult IN an houl
| or so, and he further knew what the doCto
| intended to write IN its stead, aud that j
was mild chloride Of mercury, which j
| cal0mel. The clerk put up the preparation
| accordingly and all was well, but he i
| holding out the evidence against the haughtl
| practitioner, who had previously torn uI
| some Of his plumbers when they were shown
| to him.
When a copy of the foregoing preserip
| ton was shown TO ex-Quarantine Office
| Dr. McAllster he exclaimed. I'm the nam'
| of heaven, who are you going to kill|'
! When the matter was explained TO hin
| the doctor was very emphatic Ia his denun
| citation of the manner OF writing pTescrlp
| lions as carried on by the practitioners o
this city and State.
II believe" he said, "thst law should b.
passed compelling physicians to write on
| their prescriptions in English instead 0
using the Latin contraction. If they meal
calOmel let them write the word out in full
and not indicate subchloTde OF mercury b.
their abbreviated form. Then there woulC
not be SO many mistakes"
Among the collection of another promi
pent druggist was remarkable composition
from physician with large practice. l
was a cough mixture which, being inter
pTeted read: Laudanum. two and a hal
ounces; syrup of wild cherry. two and
half ounces; licorice, three ounces.
This constituted an eight-Ounce mixture
and a dessdrtspoOnful was TO be giyel
every four hours.
Had it been administered the patien
would have been cured without doubt
After the first dose he would not hav
cOnghed again this side Of the grave.
AT each dose he would have receive
nearly teaspo0nful of laudaEum, but on
dose would have settled him.
The intelligent clerk knew that two an
a half drachms was intended instead Of tw
and half ounces and put the prescriptio
up that way. This, Of course, saved tn
doctor and himself at the same time.
The pharmacists of the city, in conse
queDce Of their treatment, as they say, b
the physicians. are organizing an open re
| bellOn, and some of the finest will hav
their prescriptions photographed and di:
tributed throughout the city.
| If this deadly work is begun there Is n
telling where it will stop. 1t is more scr
Gus even than politics.
The pharmacists openly avOw that III
majority OF doctors know more about whisk
than drugs. and that not 10 per cent of thel
can put up prescription.
| "
| Tn IEVEJ TUE DALI CDQuNnc