DOCTORS AND CHEMISTS.

Evening Star, Issue 14997, 3 October 1912, Page 3

DOCTORS AND CHEMISTS.

SECRET COMMISSIONS PREVALENT. RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED. [From Our Parliamentary Reporter.] WELLINGTON, October 3. Private arrangements for commissions on prescriptions were discussed last night by the House of Representatives, and a clause inserted in the Pharmacy Amendment Bill making this practice illegal. Mr Davey moved the insertion of newclauses providing —" (1) Every medical practitioner or his assistant is guilty of an offence who accepts, or obtains, or attempts to obtain, or solicits from any registered chemist or his assistant any monetary gift or other consideration as commissoin on prescriptions made out by such medical practitioner or his assistants; (2) every medical practitioner is guilty of an offence who instructs any patient as to where his prescriptions shall be dispensed or uses any prescription forms containing the name or place of business of any registered chemist; or (3) who pays' any medical practitioner or his agent any monetary gift or other consideration as commission on prescriptions; or (4) who supplies any medical practitioner with prescription forms containing any notification regarding his name or place of business." The member for Christ church East remarked that when he first introduced the subject the Minister suggested that the practice was not general, but he had since received information by which it could be shown that it was very general. He contended that just as a man had a right to consult any medical man he liked, so he should be' able to go to any chemist. He knew of a Christchurch doctor who had to apologise and pay damages to a chemist for advising a patient not to go to a certain chemist because his drugs were old. He could produce at least 30 prescription forms containing an intimation thai it would be made up by a certain chemist. Some doctors wrote their prescriptions in code form, so that only a paiticular chemist could make it up. CODE PRESCRIPTIONS. Mr Young said he could corroborate what Mr Davey had said. He had seen code prescriptions given to members of Parliament. One of them read: i: Sixteen add 6 ounces." This meant that a certain prescription bad been given to tho chemist by the doctor, and only that chemist could make it up. The Minister stated that he did not wish to mix up the Pharmacy Act with the Medical Act; therefore, if Mr Davey would withdraw clauses 1 and 2 relating to doctors, he would accept the other two clauses. Mr Davey expressed satisfaction at the Minister's acceptance of the two clauses. Having admitted the principle, he thought the Minister should not throw all the onus on the chemist. Mr G. M. Thomson said that new and valuable drugs were being introduced, and sometimes could only be obtained from a certain chemist. * All chemists were not equally competent, nor were their stocks equally good. The Minister announced that if, after consultation with the Crown Law Officers, he found he could insert the first two clauses in the Pharmacy Bill he would do so. A DOCTOR'S COMMENT. Dr Newman declared that the whole Medical Association were averse to their members taking commissions, and none of the better class of practitioners would do it. There were chemists who notoriously made up prescriptions with cheaper drugs than those indicated. Surely' a doctor should not be penalised for protecting his patients from this class. The maximum fine was fixed at £2O with Mr Davey's concurrence, and the two clauses relating to chemists were adopted. Mr Young moved a new clause penalising medical men for issuing prescriptions in code. He considered that the practice was neither lair to the general run of chemists nor to people who paid for prescriptions. The Minister considered that clause 4 of the previous amendment covered the gicund. He undertook that he would consult the Crown Law Officers to see it the Pharmacy Bill was the proper place for the amendment, and Mr Young then withdrew his proposal.