The morning call., 1894-03-04
MEDICINE IN TABLET FORM.
A Curious Change in the Practice
of Physicians.
oM NOrk Snn

A comparatively recent invention. vastly ex-
tended in Its application within three or four
years, has wrought a curious change in ehe
practice OF medicine. Country physicians loo
years ago. when there were few druggists out
side Of considerable towns, carried 10 their
saddle-bags or medicine-cnesls a variety OF
drugs. pills. powders. potions, lotions and
what not. Such physicians MADE up their own
prescriptions and furnished their patients with
medicines. The use of medicines in the form
of tablets tends more and more toward return
Of modern p by sicians 10 the methods OF theil
predecessors. Physicians everywhere now
write fewer presc riptions than they did ten
years ago and The use of medicine In the form
OF table = Is extending every day.
IL is only ten or fifteen years since compressed
tablets OF chlOIate OF potash Degan.tO be used.
Oiber simple drugs were then put up In ia blei
form, and gradually the variety OF drugs and
prescriptions thus prepared was extended
until now 1t includes thousands of compounds
ANY physician may now hav almost any pre-
scriptiOD OF his own made up into tablets. The
usual Requirement Is that 5000 tablets shall be
ordered. Many wel-KnOwn prescriptions OF
famous physicians have already talaed a
wide celebrity in the medical world through
their use in tablet form. Hundreds OF LIQUID
prescriptions are Ihus used by salurating Inc I
material With tile mixture, just as homeopathic
remedies are prepared Tn the form of sugar
pellets. The tablet factories are constantly
expeIim linen Ing with a view 20 reducing further
drugs and prescriptions TO tablet form. They
arr ready TO vary known pr scriptions In
accordance 10 the fancy of individual physi-
clans and TO combine Que or more prescrip-
tons In a single tablet.
The general use of tablets Instead OF pre-
scrlptions has greatly simpllfed the practice of
medicine. The PHYSICIAN instead OF writing
a prescription aud instructing his patient 10
have II compounded by a druggist, leaves the
necessary number OF tablets with instructions
as TO the time ana manner of taking. Nearly
every physician is provided with some such
tablets, and mauy use them In great uuan-
titles. Tons OF drug are now put up in this
form. Is Is the wholesale method of modern
life applied 10 the preparation of medicines
The apothecaries have felt the effects OF the
change In practice through the essening in
the number Of prescriptions to be compounded.
For the patient Ii has cheapened the cost of
doct0ring, b. cause the physici,n OBJ aims the
tablets al so low rate that lie usually makes
no charge for those supplied to his patients
New as the use OF tablets Is, the form OF the
Ia blet has been greatly improved since their
introduc ion into medical practice. Tablets
are smaller aud more compressed han they
were a few years ago. The machinery for
making hem originally was, and perhaps sill
is, controlled by single wholesale drughouse
In This city, but there are many manufacturers
of tablets b re aud elsewhere. When the
pa entees first began TO call their products Go
the attention of physicians the taDieis very
slowly made their way, because the patentees
were not widely known in The medical profess
sion. Theu they associated themselves with a
famous drughouse. AMI The tablets soon began
TO 90.
Only the simpler drugs and remedies put uu
In tablet foim are accessible To the general
pubilc The compounds are not even known
by name outside the medical profession As
they are not patent medicines they are not adj.
verfised IN other than medical newspapers
/ hey come TO physicians with label that pro-
claims the ingredients and their proper ions
Physicians have as guarantee that tablets are
made OF pure drugs and carefully compounded
only the good repute of the manufacturer Tile
best tablet manufacturers, however. employ
skilled and careful apothecaries and buy IheiI
drugs 10 large quantities directly from manu-.
lecturers. There Is. OF course, possibility oil
mistakes, aud the results of error might b. APP
palling. since tablets are made by the thou.
OF patients.