186  EDITORIAL. 
(Bitorial  Department. 
Physicians  Prescriptions;  Should  they  be  Renewed  without  a 
Written  Order  ? — During  the  past  year  several  portions  of  the  medical 
profession  have  been  exercised  on  this  subject,  and  many  articles  have 
appeared  in  the  medical  and  pharmaceutical  journals  bearing  upon 
it.  Beyond  this,  and  brought  into  the  discussion  by  some  of  the 
writers  and  speakers,  various  charges  and  allegations  of  malpractice 
or  unprofessional  conduct  have  been  adduced  as  calling  for  united  action 
on  the  part  of  the  medical  profession  to  abate  it  on  the  part  of  the  apothe- 
caries. The  East. River  Medical  Association  of  the  City  of  New  York, 
in  a  communication  to  the  Association,  set  forth  certain  resolutions  it  had 
passed  some  months  before,  and  requesting  their  consideration,  and  which 
were  previously  printed  in  the  September  number  of  this  journal.  Owing 
to  the  late  period  at  which  they  were  introduced,  they  were  not  considered, 
but  passed  to  the  next  meeting  of  1868  with  other  unfinished  business. 
By  comparing  the  original  resolutions  published  in  our  journal  with  the 
resolutions  as  presented  to  the  Association,  a  marked  difference  will  be 
seen,  the  word  ''pecuniary"  and  others  being  omitted  in  those  presen- 
ted to  the  Association,  which,  in  our  opinion,  was  honestly  and  openly  ex- 
pressed in  the  Society,  and  should  have  been  sent  unaltered  to  the  Asso- 
ciation. They  considered  their  pecuniary  interest  injured  by  the  repeti- 
tion of  prescriptions  without  an  order,  and  hence  in  great  measure  arose 
the  movement  for  which  a  good  reason  had  to  be  given  ;  and  in  the 
second  resolution  this  is  fjund,  viz.  :  That  the  practice  of  renewing  pre- 
scriptions without  orders  endangers  the  interests  and  lives  of  patients. 
If  the  matter  is  kept  on  this  basis,  and  the  physician  will  live  up  to  it, 
that  is  to  say  will  take  the  grave  responsibility  it  involves  of  refusing  his 
patient  the  medicine  he  has  ordered,  unless  it  is  again  ordered  in  writing, 
all  honorably  disposed  apothecaries  will  cheerfully  accede  and  in  good 
faith  carry  out  the  arrangement.  But  it  cannot  be  done  otherwise.  Let 
the  prescription  carry  on  its  face,  either  printed  or  written,  the  direction 
not  to  repeat  without  a  written  order  from  the  physician,  who  should 
sign  and  date  it.  The  patient  can  then  see  it,  and  the  very  fact  that  he 
presents  it  is  an  acknowledgement  that  he  agrees  to  the  contract  with  the 
physician  and  will  abide  by  it. 
In  matters  of  this  kind  usage  is  law,  to  a  great  extent,  and  the  customs 
of  the  old  countries  from  which  we  derived  our  ideas  of  medical  and 
pharmaceutical  practice  is  quite  contrary  to  the  view  of  the  resolutions, 
it  being  the  universal  custom  to  return  the  original  prescription  to  the 
patient  or  his  representative,  and  this  is  equivalent  to  giving  him  the 
right  of  renewal.  Here  custom  has  to  a  great  degree  sanctioned  the  re- 
tention of  the  original  prescription  by  the  apothecary  who  usually,  when 
requested,  gives  a  copy  to  the  patient,  but  not  otherwise.    Custom  also 
