The daily democrat. [volume] (Anadarko, Oklahoma) 190?-1908, 1907-09-02
ARE PHYSICIANS PRESCRIPTIONS
NcSTRUMs7

hint even that physicians prcscrip-
tions are in any manner 7elated TO
nostrums; nevertheless. an impartial
examination o. oil the facts in the
case leads irresistibly to the conclu-
sion that every medicinal preparation
compounded and dispensed by a physi-
clan is, I'm the strict sense of the word.
a nostrym, and that the average,
ready.prepared proprietary remedy is
superior to the average specially-pre-
pared physicians prescription.
What is n nostrum? According TO
the Standard Dictionary n nostrum is
"a medicine the composition Of which
is kept a secret" Now, when n physl-
cian compounds and dispenses with
his own hands a remedy for the treat
ment OF a discase-and II IS authOrita-
lively stated that probably go per
cent. of all physicians prescriptions
in this country are so dlspensed-the
names and quantities OF the ingre-
dents which constitute the remedy
are not made known to the patient.
Hence. since its composition is kept a
secret By the physician, the remedy or
prescription is unquestionably, In the
true meaning OF the word. a Simon
pure nostrum. Furthermore the pre-
scriptlon compounded by the average
physician is more than likely to be a
perfect jumblc-replete with thera-
peutic. physiologic and chemical in
compatlbilities and bearing all the ear
marks of pharmaceutical incompe-
tency; for II Is now generally admitted
that unless n physician has made
special study OF pharmacy and passed
some time in a drug store for the pur-
pose of gaining a practical knowledge
OF modern pharmaceutical methods,
he is not fitted to compound remedies
for his patients. Moreover. a physi-
clan who compounds his own prescrip-
tions not only depriyes the pharmacist
OF his Just emoluments. but he endan-
gers the lives of patients; for 1t is
only by the detection and elimination
OF errors in prescriptions by clever.
competent prescriptlonlsts that the
safety of the public can be effectually
shielded from the criminal bunders
of ignorant physicians.
Nor can IL be said that the average
physician is any more competent to
formulate n prescription than he is to
compound It. When memorized or di-
rectly copied from a book of "favorlte
prescriptions by famous physicians"
or from some textbook or medical
journal, the prescription may be all
that Il should be. IL is only when the
physician is required to originate n
formula on the spur of the moment
that his incompetency is distinctly evil
dent Seemingly. however, the physl-
clans of the United States are little
worse than the average British physi-
clan: for we find DR.. James Burnett,
Lecturer on Practical Materia Medica
and pharmacy, Edinburgh, lamenting
in Il Medical Magazine the passing
Of tfe prescription and bemoaning the
facti that seldom does he find final
MANY able to devise prescription
even IN good contracted Latin"
AND what, 1t may be asked is the
status of the written prescription-the
prescription that is compounded and
dispensTd by the Pharmacists IT.,
tQc..a nostrum? IL may be contended
that the patient, with the written
formula in his possession, may learn
the character of the remedy pre-
scribed. SO, possibly, he might II he
understood Latin and were a physician
or a pharmacist, but as he usually pos
sesses no professional training and
cannot read Latin, the prescription is
| practically dead secret to him,
Furthermore. the average prescription
| is so badly written and so greatly
abbreviated that even the pharmacist,
skilled as he usually is in deciphering
medical hierogyphs, is constantly
obliged TO interview prescribers to
/ find out what actually has been pre-
scribed. 1t may also be contended,
/ that inasmuch as the formula is known
/ to both physician and pharmacist the
prescription cannot therefore be Sc
/ cret. But with equal truth II might be
/ contended that the formula of any So
called nostrum Is not secret since II
/ is known TO both proprietor and manu-
facturer; for It must not be forgotten
] AhhAr hAAhlhAlln " lAAAAhAt hAAhNl ~
80 per cent. Of the proprietors of So
/ called patent medicines prepared in
| this country have their remedies made
| for them by large, reputable manufac-
/ turing pharmacist0. But even should
patient be able to recognize the
/ names of the ingredients mentioned in
formula he would only know half
| the story. 1t is seldom, for instance,
/ that alcohol is specifically mentioned
In n prescription. Tor it is usually
masked in the form OF tinctures and
/ fluid extracts, as are n great many
other substances. IL IS evident, there
fore, that the ordinary formulated pre-
scription is, to the average patient, lit
tie less than a secret remedy or nos
trum.
On the other hand. the formulae OF
nearly all the proprietary medicines
that are exploited exclusively to the
medical profession as well as those
OF n large percentage of the proprie-
tary remedies that are advertised TO