The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-07-01

be reasonably met by them in their respective stations in life."
 U. s. Families Spend $22
 Annually for Drngs
 It was discol cred that the aver age expenditure for medicines Is approximately $22 annually per family of four persons or $5.50 per member. Actual expenditures per capita vary widely, however, and tend to be highest in the cities.
 Other important facts this sur vey disclosed include the follow ing:
 1. Patients attempting to di- agnose their own ailments by com- pairing their symptoms with those described in patent medicine ad- vertisements may frequently. fore- go proper medical attention until 1t Is too late to effect cure.
 2. "Official' medicines can usu- ally be purchased by the phar- macist for a fraction of the price of proprietary medicines or ethical specialties, with a corresponding reduction in price to the patient.
 Merchandising Activities Make Registered Pharmacists Available
 3. Provided they were engaged in no other pursuits, approximate ly 10000 pharmacists could fill the 165,000. 900 physicians prescrip- tions now annually filled by 115.- 900 registered pharmacists in 60,- 900 drug stores. Limiting the com- pounding of prescriptions to 10,- 900 pharmacists in as many drug stores, however would leave many communities wit ut pharmacists and in larger communities would spread the number of pharmacies. making 1t inconvenient for the public to obtain prompt prescrip- tion service.
 Merchandising activities of drug stores, frequently derided, make the services of registered phar- nient to the public.
 4. Although regulations gov- erning the pharmaceutical profess sion are strict enough, the privi- leges of unlicensed persons oper- ating outside of pharmacy are so extensive that the public enjoys little protection in the sales of packaged medicines.
 5. While self-medication is in- creasing. there is not available suf- ficient information on which tho public can base its judgment as to what type of medicine may safely be used for the treatment of sim- pie and minor conditions. $1.5O Per Capita Annually
 Expended Through Doctors
 6. Drugs prescribed or dis pensed through doctors do not constitute large portion of tho total costs of medical care. Physi- clans prescriptions plus the drugs dispensed in doctors offices aver age approximately $1.5O per per- son per year.
 Ut is significant" the report reads, "that the costs of medicines to patients are still lower when the conditions of treatment permit a physician to prescribe only such medicines as he considers neces- sary to good results" Such condi- tions exist, according to the report, where medical service Is rendered on an annual" rather than fee UAoAcp uo All AuuuotA AaA VI uhAVSAoAsy health services.
 Millions Wasted on Patent
 Medicines
 Few of the so-called patent medicines" are actually registered as to ingredients and granted pat ents from the United State patent office. Most of them are protected by trade names which become through registration and usage, the property of the manufacturer or distributor. The formulas are sc- cret.
 The report states that ESQ long as secrecy of composition Is per- missable for medicines offered for public Is kept in ignorance of the self-medication, and so long as the proper uses and value of common drugs. the quaclS will find some method to ply his trade"
 Expenditures 8or fraudulent cures range from $15,00o,000 up. ward each year.
 Recommendations Made for Future
 of Pharmacy V
 The authors made four recofn- mendNtions based on their survey for the committee on the costs of medical care. They are:
 4 secrst-formula drugs and