My initial interest in the topic began in the 1960s.
On a wet blustery morning I was sitting in a company Ford whilst the driver went into ground-floor rooms of a high terraced property across the road.
Suddenly, beside my head, a tap on the window. I turned to see bare knuckles, white cuffs, dark-suited and over coated, and a decidedly pale-faced man asking me to let the window down.
"Sorry," he said when I did so, "thought you were Ken. His car isn't it? Gone, has he?"
"None.. of those," I answered carefully, "who are you?"
"George, PD if ya wanna know."
"Parke Davis."
"That's the one.. you?"
"You know. You know Ken, so I'm with his firm right now—"
"Gottit! Manager, huh. Course, ya would be, sitting in the passenger seat an' all."
"Actually—"
"Doesn't matter, ya don't have to explain. Look, I only stopped by on a hope and if Ken's in there with doc Harris he sure won't want to see me today."
"You're the pharmacist aren't you, " I asked, remembering Ken's earlier conversation related to the reason I was there in the first place. "Australian—"
"New Zealander, actually. Yeah, PD are pretty good like that. But yes you're right, pharmacist makes a big difference. Hey, I see Ken coming. Nice to meet you, I'll be off."
And he was, jogging back to the rear and soon out of sight.
Ken confirmed my impressions, adding in his pedantic former teacher way, "Almost prescient really. Good we got to Harris first. Given what's happened and his attitude to prescribing stuff. Parke Davis do do chloromycetin don't they..?"
"Chloramphenicol," I replied with a brief practice of the antibiotic's generic name, "though it would help knowing if Harris got the problems in adults or children."
"Both. I mean, he was for everyone and everything. Broad spectrum, the greatest and best ever. Nothing to touch it. Now, well, with aplastic anaemias—that was what you said wasn't it—he's got to rethink his.. and I.. I for one don't see it coming easily.. if at all."
"Not me," I said easily as he started up and drove off, "not why I'm here. We do an alternative, but not broad spectrum, as you know. Paediatric, too, again not all-and-sundry. And yes, self-regulation like ours.. y'know from your rep training.. means it has a life. Efficacy for life. Sure other drugs will come along yet for now someone needs hold the reins."
Enthused, Ken sang, "Oh yes, erythromycin is very good when used properly. Kept in reserve and all. Now listen, Norm, before we do my next call, Harris has agreed to lunch. Says he'll meet us first, then decide where. I couldn't do better than that. But I could look out for us if you don't get anywhere with him. He won't like you telling him what you've just told me and I know the chemists around him pretty well so if you think I should cover the scrip supply issue I'll get onto it straightaway."
"Thank you, Ken, good thinking. But let's do lunch first. Let's hope he's still receptive to our ethics and can take in your commercial front plus my R&D.."
Doctor Harris did, as it happened, and so in this single case sense the transatlantic corporate boards ratification of avoiding drugs misuse by unwarranted prescription remained intact.
Tom Meades made medical literature with his study of doctor prescribing and drug use competence. In the 1950s. Yet even ten years later serious side-effects of continued drug use were being reported. In patient population clusters(ie cities) this can result in great difficulties tracking down and remediation.
No comments:
Post a Comment