septui,  i872RM'}     The  Physician  and  Pharmaceutist,  403 
pharmacist,  against  quackery  of  any  kind,  would  be  the  enforcement 
of  a  proper  law  regulating  the  practice  of  medicine  and  pharmacy 
respectively,  and  especially  the  keeping  of  drug  stores. 
Another  resolution  says  that  a  druggist  should  not  repeat  a  pre- 
scription without  the  order  of  the  prescribing  physician.  It  will  be 
very  difficult  to  enforce  this  regulation  in  practice,  and  it  is  to  be 
feared,  therefore,  that  it  would  remain  a  dead  law,  disregarded  by 
everybody,  although  no  one  might  deny  its  utility,  and  especially  its 
propriety  in  principle.  The  physicians  seem  to  be  inclined  to  claim 
the  prescription  as  their  property.  The  pharmacist  does  not  claim  it 
at  all,  although  he  has  it  in  his  possession,  and  possession  is,  as  every 
body  knows,  sometimes  the  best  title.  But  the  question  arises,  whe- 
ther it  is  not  the  property  of  the  patient.  If  the  physician  is  called 
upon  by  a  patient  for  medical  advice,  he  gives  part  of  it  in  words, 
regulating  the  patient's  deportment,  diet,  and  so  on — part  of  it  in 
ordering  the  medicaments  to  be  used.  In  most  cases,  the  prescription 
is  the  least  important  part  of  his  advice ;  and  in  many  cases  the  pa- 
tient has  to  judge  for  himself  how  long  he  should  continue  to  follow 
his  advice  and  to  take  the  medicine.  The  patient  has  to  judge  for 
himself,  or  his  friends  for  him,  at  what  moment  he  needs  the  physi- 
cian's advice,  and  also  decides  how  long  he  is  to  continue. 
Under  all  circumstances,  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  enforce  the 
rule  proposed  by  this  resolution.  The  courts  are  not  very  likely  to 
sustain  the  claim  of  the  physician.  Innumerable  disputes  would 
arise,  because  the  druggist  would  find  it  very  difficult  to  refuse  any 
of  his  customers  a  repetition  of  their  prescriptions ;  he  would  also 
find  it  very  much  against  his  interest  to  do  so.  It  is  not  to  be  seen 
what  the  physician  could  do  should  the  druggists  unite  in  order  to 
oppose  his  wishes.  It  has  been  said  the  physicians  might,  in  order 
to  enforce  the  proposed  rule,  cease  to  write  prescriptions,  and  rather 
dispense  the  required  medicine  themselves.  But  the  dispensing  of 
medicines  by  physicians,  except  in  cases  of  necessity,  is  surely  a  con- 
quered stand- point — not  practicable  for  the  following  reasons: 
1.  The  dispensing  physician  would,  by  this  measure,  go  back  to  a 
more  primitive  state  of  civilization ;  he  would  be  compelled  to  pay 
more  attention  to  things  not  strictly  belonging  to  his  province,  and 
would  be  prevented  from  concentrating  his  study  upon  his  special  pro- 
fession. 
