The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 269 No 7229 p885
21/28 December 2002

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Letters to the Editor

Patient packs

A Christmas fairy tale — the magic number

From Mr G. A. Fox, MRPharmS

"Once upon a time there was an empty box, a space, a nothing. Although there were millions of such empty spaces produced every day this one was special. She believed she had a purpose in life and was upset and lonely and could not bear being ignored. She cried her eyes out and in doing so filled her little square emptiness with tears, so making it glisten. By chance, a young, handsome and clever doctor spotted her shiny home. He noticed an instruction beside it to put a number in the box. His kindly face dried her tears and after some thought he filled the space.

"The doctor's life changed because he had wisely chosen a magic number. Amazingly, from that day his workload was lighter. He found that all he needed to write, for patients' medicines, was the drug and the dose. The magic number took care of the quantities needed without any calculation on his part. But, even more magically, it reduced the frequency patients called at the surgery for prescriptions because all their medicines were now running out and being requested at the same time. He was further astounded to find that even if he changed a dose the medicines still all ran out together saving him and his staff and patients much time and trouble.

"His friend, the local pharmacist, was also happy because it was easy to dispense the doctor's prescriptions and he did not have to correct sums. (In the past, even this clever doctor was so busy he sometimes asked for 114 or 116 when he really meant 112. Or if he was really busy he would guess 50 or 100 when the right answer was 56 or 84.)

"Other people were also pleased. The officials who had to cost his prescriptions found it much easier and cheaper to do. And the people paying for all the medicines, the taxpayers, were delighted that medicines were not wasted and costs for the National Health Service were reduced."

"So everyone lived happily ever after, Grandpa?"

"Not quite. Nobody else uses the magic square and the magic number."

"Why not? What was the magic number?"

"The one the clever doctor used was 28."

"Why do they not print 28 instead of an empty space so that everybody can use the magic?"

"Well, there are other magic numbers like 7, 10, 14, 56, and 84 that some doctors want to use."

"But do not put in the magic box?"

"Not very often."

"I have got a great idea, Grandpa. Why don't they make a box with 28 printed in it and put an empty box next to it with a message to cross out the 28 and use a new magic number if they want to?"

"Now that is real magic!"

"Will they do it then?"

"I doubt it, grown-ups do not believe in fairy stories or magic."

Gerald Fox
Dunstable, Bedfordshire

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