The log cabin Democrat., 1907-08-22
ARE PHYSICIANS PRESCRIPTIONS
 NOSTRUMS?


 between physicians prescriptions, pro- prietary medicines and nostrums, It may seem little short of crime to hint even that physicians prescrip- tions are in any manner related 10 nostrums; nevertheless, an impartial examination of all the facts in the case leads irresistibly to the conclu- sion that every medicinal preparation compounded and dispensed by physl- clan is, in the strict sense of the word, a nostrum, and that the average, readY-prepared proprietary remedy IS superior to the average specially-pre- pared physicians prescription.
 What is a nostrum? According to the Standard Dictionary nostrum IS "a medicine the composition of which is kept a secret" Now, when a physl- clan compounds and dispenses with his own hands remedy for the treat ment of a disease-and it is authorita- lively stated that probably 50 per cent. of all physicians prescriptions in this country are so dispensed-the names and quantities of the lngre- dients which constitute the remedy are not made known to the patient. Hence, since it's composition is kept secret by the physician, the remedy or prescription is unquestionably, In the true meaning of the word, simon pure nostrum. Furthermore, the pre- scription compounded by the average physician is more than likely to be a perfect jumble-replete with thera- peutic, physiologic and chemical in- compatibilities and bearing all the ear marks of pharmaceutical lncompe- tency; for it is now generally admitted that unless physician has made special study of pharmacy and passed some time in a drug store for the pur- pose of gaining practical knowledge of modern pharmaceutical methods, he is not fitted to compound remedies for his patients. Moreover, a physl- elan who compounds his own prescr1p- tions not only deprives the pharmacist of his just emoluments, but he endan- gers the lives of patients; for it is only by the detection and elimination of errors in prescriptions by clever, competent prescriptionists that the safety of the public can be effectually shielded from the criminal blunders of ignorant physicians.
 Nor can it be said that the average physician is any more competent to formulate prescription than he is to compound it. When memOrized or di- rectly copied from book of 'favorite prescriptions by famous physicians, or from some textbook or medical journal, the prescription may be all that it should be. It is only when the physician is required to originate formula on the spur of the moment that his incompetency is distinctly evl- dent. Seemingly, however, the physI- clans of the United States are little worse than the average British physl- clan; for we find Dr. James Burnett, lecturer on Practical Materia Medica and Pharmacy, Edinburgh, lamenting in the Medical Magazine the passing of the prescription and bemOaning the fact that seldom does he find a final man" able to devise a prescription even in good contracted Latin.'
 And what, it may be asked, is the status of the written prescription-the prescription that is compounded and dispensed by the pharmacist-is it, too, nostrum? It 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 if 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 a 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 hieroglyphs, is constantly obliged to interview prescribers to find out what actually has been pre- scribed. It may also be cOntended, that inasmuch as the formula is known to both physician and pharmacist the prescription cannot therefore be Se- cret. But with equal truth it might be contended that the formula of any so- called nostrum is not secret since it is known to both proprietor and manu- facturer; for it must not be forgotten that, according to reliable authority, 95 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 pharmacists. But even should a patieat be able to recognize the names of the ingredients mentioned in a formula he would only know half the story. It is seldom, for instance, that alcohol is specifically mentioned in a prescription, for it is usually masked in the form of tinctures and fluid extracts, as are a great many other substances. It is evident, there