hanktrent
01-30-2008, 10:45 PM
Here's some prescription trivia I ran across this evening.
You know how you always see the proper form for a period prescription, complete with "ter in die" or some similar instruction as the last line? Well apparently, in Washington D.C. at least, it wasn't done like that in actual practice, until about the time of the war.
The following is from Personal Reminiscenses and Recollections by Samuel C. Busey, M.D., 1895.
During this period [in the early part of the author's practice which began in 1848] prescription blanks were not used. Some physicians supplied themselves with slips of paper, but others did not carry with them either paper or pencil. I have seen prescriptions written upon the margin of a newspaper, and, I believe, I was the first physician in this city to write the directions for the administration of the medicine upon the prescription. To this fact my attention was called by a very intelligent druggist named Schwartz, whose store was located on Pennsylvania Avenue betwen Second and Third Streets, N.W., who informed me that a prescription of mine was the first he had ever seen with the written directions. The use of prescription blanks in this city was an outgrowth of the war, and probably originated with the druggists as an advertisement to the patrons of those physicians who might accept and use such as were supplied by them. A few never accepted such generous donations, but had printed their own blanks. Now [1890s] very few, if any, use blanks with druggists' advertisement indorsements.
Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net
You know how you always see the proper form for a period prescription, complete with "ter in die" or some similar instruction as the last line? Well apparently, in Washington D.C. at least, it wasn't done like that in actual practice, until about the time of the war.
The following is from Personal Reminiscenses and Recollections by Samuel C. Busey, M.D., 1895.
During this period [in the early part of the author's practice which began in 1848] prescription blanks were not used. Some physicians supplied themselves with slips of paper, but others did not carry with them either paper or pencil. I have seen prescriptions written upon the margin of a newspaper, and, I believe, I was the first physician in this city to write the directions for the administration of the medicine upon the prescription. To this fact my attention was called by a very intelligent druggist named Schwartz, whose store was located on Pennsylvania Avenue betwen Second and Third Streets, N.W., who informed me that a prescription of mine was the first he had ever seen with the written directions. The use of prescription blanks in this city was an outgrowth of the war, and probably originated with the druggists as an advertisement to the patrons of those physicians who might accept and use such as were supplied by them. A few never accepted such generous donations, but had printed their own blanks. Now [1890s] very few, if any, use blanks with druggists' advertisement indorsements.
Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net