In medicine, the standard is to use the zero before the decimal point. 0.5 mg of a medication is much different than 5 mg of a medication. Many other items have been standardized as well, to avoid confusion. I used to transcribe orders written by interns and residents. It was always a power trip to make them rewrite things legibly.

Miss Kelly

 

I used to transcribe orders written by interns and residents. It was always a power trip to make them rewrite things legibly.

Seems more like a lost cause to me.

I check every prescription, every time, and can't remember leaving a doctors office without making them write down the rest of the required information. Doctors think in a certain way, and drugstores think in a different way. The doctor is thinking in practical terms and the drugstores are demanding the legal points be in order. Even if the doctors intent is legible, he often misses the legal points.

"30 a month? Then circle the number box on the right."
What's it for? You have to write, "for blood pressure" or, "for cholesterol" even if there is no other practical use for that drug.
"Your 3 looks like a 7. Do it over."
and, the ever present, "You forgot to sign this one".

 

Seems more like a lost cause to me.

I check every prescription, every time, and can't remember leaving a doctors office without making them write down the rest of the required information. Doctors think in a certain way, and drugstores think in a different way. The doctor is thinking in practical terms and the drugstores are demanding the legal points be in order. Even if the doctors intent is legible, he often misses the legal points.

"30 a month? Then circle the number box on the right."
What's it for? You have to write, "for blood pressure" or, "for cholesterol" even if there is no other practical use for that drug.
"Your 3 looks like a 7. Do it over."
and, the ever present, "You forgot to sign this one".

Huh, I've never asked a doc to do anything to a prescription and I've never had one mis-filled or rejected. I always make note of what the doctor tells me the drug is and the dosage (independent of what they write on the prescription) and I always confirm that that is what the bottle says when I get it and then I always look at the label on the side of the bottle (which not all pharmacies provide) that tell me what the pill looks like and what markings it has on it and verify that.

Today, with electronic prescriptions, I seldom have a piece of paper to give to the pharmacy. Fortunately, this doesn't affect how I verify my prescriptions.

 

Well, lucky you. Apparently your doctor isn't as absent minded as mine is.

 

Well, lucky you. Apparently your doctor isn't as absent minded as mine is.

Perhaps. It might also be that the pharmacies I have gone to have been more proactive about contacting the physician if there are problems with the script and resolving them behind the scenes.

 

Likely true. The way it works here is that the doctor leaves out information, the pharmacy acts like it's my problem, and I waste the other half of the day straightening it out.

 

They could replace 90% of doctor visits with a vending machine and some simple icons...

 

They could replace 90% of doctor visits with a vending machine and some simple icons...

Heck, add some youtube videos and almost all doctor visits could be DIY. Anybody need hip replacement? I have a lathe, a hack saw and I found some scalpels on eBay.

 

Heck, add some youtube videos and almost all doctor visits could be DIY. Anybody need hip replacement? I have a lathe, a hack saw and I found some scalpels on eBay.

I have an autoclave for rent.

 

In electronics, we replace the decimal point with the multiplier unit.

4.7k becomes 4k7

0.1n becomes 0n1

 

They could replace 90% of doctor visits with a vending machine and some simple icons...

Totally agree with that, because most of my medications are month to month, year to year, etc.

Drop your cash into a vending machine, instead of the middle man.....

Most likely, it would be a LOT cheaper.




Probably not.

 

Totally agree with that, because most of my medications are month to month, year to year, etc.

Drop your cash into a vending machine, instead of the middle man.....

Most likely, it would be a LOT cheaper.




Probably not.

Yep. No need to be concerned about drug interactions.

 

Totally agree with that, because most of my medications are month to month, year to year, etc.

Drop your cash into a vending machine, instead of the middle man.....

Most likely, it would be a LOT cheaper.




Probably not.

There must be a lot of money for the middle man, otherwise there wouldn't be a RiteAid, Wallgreens, or other pharmacy on every intersection.

 

Hi,

can someone explain to me why the uk/us custom is to write numbers as .5 instead of 0.5?
I would think that the decimal point in such notation is quite easy to miss, so a quick glance could mistake if for a 5.
So is it beacause people were just lazy to add a redundant zero infront of the point, or is there some other thing that I am not aware of?

Saves printer ink by omitting all those pesky zeros!

I've recently made a habit of adding the zero...it really is helpful.

Eric

 

In electronics, we replace the decimal point with the multiplier unit.

4.7k becomes 4k7

0.1n becomes 0n1

I'm glad you brought that up!

So do we use n1 to signify a 0.1nF cap? Nope we add the leading zero.

A zero before the decimal point is correct.