The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1910-01-07
Drug Clerks Often Life Savers.

"The illegible writing OF physicians
Is as proverbial as that OF the ce1e-
brated Philadelphia lawyer" observed
the old druggist to Republic report
er, 'but it is not generally known that
great many physicians are exceed
ingly careless in other ways in pre-
pairing their prescriptions. We drug
gists frequently find mistakes in pre-
scriptions which would be fatal to the
patient if the medicine were COM
pounded as the physician directed.
Almost every State has stringent laws
forbididng a druggist to change a
physicians prescription in any way,
but, as rule, druggists do make cor
rectiOns and send out the medicine in
its proper form. Most physicians,
knowing their liability to error, rely
on the dispensing clerk to detect their
mistakes and are very grateful to them
for doing it. Others, however (the
exaggerated ego kind, object serious
ly to having their prescriptions alter
ed and resent having their attention
o their mistakes.
$50, you see, the druggist has to
use considerable diplomacy to avoid
offending the physician, and at the
same time save the life of the patient.
Sometimes, when you take a pre-
scription to a drug store, the clerk,
after reading it, says, This prescrip-
ton will take a long time to fill.
You'd better not wait for it, come
back for 1T i'm an hour or %. That
frequently means that he has discover
ed grave error in the prescription
and that he intends to consult the
physician before filling it.
MANY years ago, when I first start
ed in the business and was to great
extent dependent upon the good will
of the physicians for my success, a
prescription was brought in one morn
ing which, as soon as l read it, I
knew meant sure death to the patient
if he took the medicine. I told the
boy who brought it that he had better
come back in an hour, as it would
take that long to put it up. In the
meantime / intended to consult the
physician over the telephone, as / was
not willing to take chances on killing
the patient or offending the physician
III found that the physician had gone
several miles out of town, and was
not expected to return before after
noon. That was tough, as 7 knew
| from the nature of the prescription
that the patient was in serious con-
dition and needed the medicine al
once So 1 took the risk, altered the
prescription and sent it out.
Toward night the physician came
in. Taking him aside, I showed him
the prescription and asked -
" is that all right p
" Not by a iugful,' he gasped. You
didn't send it out, did you 2
Eyes sir; about eleven o'clock this
morning, I answered.
"The physician gave me q horrifiet
look and hurried out to his buggy As
M was about to drive Off he hesitated
got out, hitched his horse again, ant
came slowly back into the store.
\ There i no use in my going now,
| he said, for if Jackson took that med
icine he's been dead since four o'clock.
Il gave him drink to brace him up
and then told him that had corrected
his error. He gave long sigh of re-
lief, as he said -
=" You're all right, Tom. I'll do yol
a good turn some day. It's a lucky
thing for me you caught that mistake
if YOU hadn't I'd have lost the case,
and he added, as he took another
\ drink, I'm thinking it was q damned
| lucky thing for the patient, too.