Copying Prescriptions

Another point in regard to the property in prescriptions arises when they are copied, and this may usefully be prefaced with some remarks regarding the law as to copying. The Pharmacy Act of 1868 and the Irish Pharmacy Act require prescriptions containing poison to be copied. The former Act (Sect, xvii) says that the provisions as to labelling poisons with the name of the poison and the word 'Poison' shall not apply to 'any medicine supplied by a legally qualified [medical practitioner] to his patient, nor to any article when forming part of the ingredients of any medicine dispensed by a person registered under the Act, provided such medicine be labelled with the name and address of the seller, and the ingredients thereof be entered, with the name of the person to whom it is sold or delivered, in a book to be kept by the seller for that purpose'

It is, therefore, obligatory on the chemist to enter in his prescription-book any prescription containing any scheduled poison which he dispenses, and medicine so entered need not be labelled 'Poison.' The only doubtful point about the provision is as to whose name should be entered in the prescription-book. In practice the name of the patient is entered, and that is the most convenient method for subsequent reference ; but that this is not always legally sufficient is apparent when the medicine is for an infant, to whom it cannot be sold or delivered. Therefore the name of the purchaser or his agent should always be entered in the prescription-book as well as the name of the patient for whom the medicine is intended. On this point see p. 19.

In the Case of Repeats of medicines containing scheduled poisons it is not considered necessary to recopy the whole prescription, but to make such an entry asMrs. Thomas William Jones.

Repeat arsenical mixture as prescription,

Book F, No. 1793. June 20, 1899.

It will be noticed that the address of the person to whom a dispensed medicine is sold or delivered is not required by law. It is customary in some pharmacies where the prescriptions of certain physicians are retained to file them all, and the entering in the book of those containing poisons may be overlooked. This would be an illegal practice, apart from which the non-entry of prescriptions is poor business, because prescription-books may become a valuable trade asset.

The Prescription-book need not be an elaborate affair unless the work to be done is voluminous. In some pharmacies a prescription-register is also kept, and on page 6 we reproduce the ruling of a register for which the advantages claimed are : It shows (1) the amount of dispensing done in a day, week, month, or year; (2) the nature of the medicine dispensed; (3) the hour when dispensed (this is a check upon delivery should the messenger have wasted time); and (4) the names of the dispenser and checker. We note the width of each column:

Much may be said against methods of registration if they are employed simply with the object of impressing customers with the idea of your carefulness. Remember that every effort should be made to attain absolute correctness in dispensing and promptitude in delivery of medicines; perfect satisfaction is thus guaranteed, and complaints will be extremely rare. If the prescription-records have to be often referred to for the purpose of detecting culprits, this only proves that all precautions have failed to put the dispensers on the alert, or that they have made the dispensers tools of the system or dependent upon it. Mistakes should never be allowed to occur, and the most certain indication of accurate dispensing and careful checking is that the prescription-register rarely requires to be reopened. Good general supervision by the principal for the time being should never be neglected.

It is advisable to enter every prescription and repeat in the prescription-book, for in the event of the business coming into the market for sale, the books may enhance the selling-price. In such sales the prescription-books become the property of the purchaser as part of the business. This brings us to a legal consideration already referred to, namely: