Go spill the beans far and wide, John (grin). I am one of those insiders, and I am only too happy to shed the mystery. The symbol is no secret, and it should be laughed off the stage.
My job with USMA is to help get rid of the "Huh?" Paul Paul Trusten, Registered Pharmacist Vice President and Public Relations Director U.S. Metric Association, Inc. Midland, Texas, USA +1(432)528-7724 www.metric.org trus...@grandecom.net > On Oct 27, 2013, at 8:15, "John M. Steele" <jmsteele9...@sbcglobal.net> wrote: > > Rest assured that ℥ viii will not make me think Customary. It will make me > think "Huh???" > It is obviously code for insiders to keep the rest of us confused. > > From: Paul Trusten <trus...@mygrande.net> > To: U.S. Metric Association <usma@colostate.edu> > Sent: Sunday, October 27, 2013 8:51 AM > Subject: [USMA:53351] Re: Amber Prescription Safety Cap Vials 30 Dram, > 240/case: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific > > The size refers to fluid drams (8 fluid drams to 1 fluid ounce) , not solid > drams---it refers to the volume of the vial. In my day, we'd simply estimate > the size of the vial vs. the size of the tablet, but I suspect today's > technology would suggest a vial size based on the tablet size, sothe > pharmacist or pharmacy technician can merely reach for the size suggested on > the label printout. Coo-ool. > > Next time you get an oral solution (such as cough syrup) dispensed to you by > prescription, look at the back or side of the brown bottle. You will see the > ancient apothecary symbol for fluid ounce, "℥," followed by a Roman numeral. > So, an eight fluid ounce bottle reads ℥ viii. Why are these currently used > pharmacy products still using apothecary units, which were deprecated by the > United States Pharmacopeia (USP) in 1995? Refer to "Fiddler On The Roof": > TRADITION! Also because the container manufacturers have never been required > to eliminate them. It might be expensive to change the machinery that > impresses the "℥ viii" instead of "240 mL," but I think times change. > > This is an important point, not only about metrication, which would require > these containers to be denominated in milliliters only, but for consistency > in medication safety. How are we going to get the U.S. public to "think > milliliter" with regard to measuring oral liquids if we continue to show > medication container sizes in legacy units of measurement? Part of the answer > is that there are milliliter and fluid ounce scales on the brown bottles, and > it is high time that the apothecary sizes, and fluid ounce scale be > eliminated and milliliters only shown. The USP metric-only standard for drugs > should apply across the board. > > I am sending a copy of this message to the Institute for Safe Medication > Practices (ISMP) to see what is being pondered by that organization. ISMP > has recommended the elimination of household measurement from healthcare at > all levels, and these containers, which are designed exclusively for use in > pharmacy, ought to be considered as well. If the teaspoonful and the > tablespoonful are to be deprecated, then other non-metric measurement units > should be thrown out as well. As far as extending metrication of healthcare > in the U.S. is concerned, revamping these old-style containers are where part > of the rubber meets the road. > > Paul > > > > > Paul Trusten, Registered Pharmacist > Vice President and Public Relations Director > U.S. Metric Association, Inc. > Midland, Texas, USA > +1(432)528-7724 > http://www.metric.org/ > trus...@grandecom.net > > >> On Oct 27, 2013, at 7:18, "Kilopascal" <kilopas...@cox.net> wrote: >> >> http://www.amazon.com/Amber-Prescription-Safety-Vials-Dram/dp/B0026K7GG8 >> >> Paul, >> >> Why are these pill vials specified in drams and not grams? Do you refer to >> them by their gram capacity so you know how many 200 mg tablets of a drug >> will require which vial size? >> >> > >
