Chapter 272: 273 No one dares to sign
Du Heng carefully examined the prescription he had written and, after confirming that there were no issues, finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"Doctor Gu, please give this prescription to Director Xu. Remind the Pharmacy to decoct a concentrated liquid of 400ml for each dose. Add 100g of Honey and 10ml of ginger juice to each dose, then boil it three times. Remember, it must be boiled three times, otherwise the toxicity will not be sufficiently reduced. It's to be taken twice a day; prepare 30 doses."
Du Heng handed the prescription to Gu Ping, who was behind him. "Also, I've noted cutch on there. Make sure the Pharmacy provides it to the Patient as well, to be mixed with water and taken once a day. Furthermore, tell the Patient to buy some sophora wood ear themselves and boil it to drink as tea."
Gu Ping carefully read the prescription from top to bottom, but he didn't rush to leave. As he looked at the prescription, many questions surfaced in his mind.
He knew that as soon as he left, Du Heng would follow suit, and their next meeting would be a week later.
By that time, due to work-related matters, the questions he had today would likely no longer exist in his mind.
So, he wanted to take advantage of the present opportunity, while his mind was also working quickly, to address these questions.
No matter whether Du Heng was willing to talk or not, he had to steel himself to ask; opportunities always had to be seized by oneself.
After looking at the prescription, Gu Ping cautiously asked, "Mr. Du..."
But before he could finish his question, Du Heng answered a phone call from Wang Shuqiu. "Du, it's getting dark and the mall is about to close. Are you done? Are you coming or not?"
Du Heng glanced at Gu Ping and moved the phone aside. "Doctor Gu, please take care of the rest. Pass this along to Director Xu for me; I have to leave now."
After saying this, he got up and walked away, resuming his conversation with Wang Shuqiu, "Alright, I just finished. I'll be right there. By the way, where are you now?"
Watching Du Heng's departing figure and listening to the gradually fading Voice, Gu Ping was fit to burst with frustration.
He had finally mustered the courage to ask, prepared to be shameless, but Du Heng hadn't given him the chance and had simply left.
Gu Ping held the prescription in his hands, feeling conflicted.
He had the authority to sign off on this prescription, but he had an attending Physician above him who needed to review it first, as they shared liability.
If Du Heng were present and Xu Pinglin also came forward to explain things clearly, everyone would sign it.
But now that the person involved was gone, anyone faced with this prescription would likely hesitate and waver.
As expected, when Gu Ping took the prescription to his immediate superior—the attending Physician—the man looked at the sheet full of hypertoxic medicines and didn't dare to sign. Calling Director Xu Pinglin over didn't help either.
The prescription contained three types of highly toxic medicines, two of which were in overdose amounts. The mineral medicines and insect medicines were also prescribed in large doses. Without anyone to explain this clearly to me, how can I dare to sign? Even if you are the Director, you can't make me gamble my career on this! the attending Physician thought.
Xu Pinglin was also frustrated. He couldn't very well call Du Heng now and ask him to come back.
The fact that Du Heng was willing to examine the Patient and write a prescription was already a huge favor.
Because even if they signed off and administered the medicine, if something went wrong, Du Heng himself wouldn't be able to escape responsibility.
But now, Du Heng had taken a risk to help, and their side was getting cold feet. How could Xu Pinglin bring himself to call Du Heng?
"Alright, take the prescription and let's go find Director Li Jianwei from the Chinese Medicine Department. Let him explain it to you," Xu Pinglin said, exasperated. He couldn't force the attending Physician to sign.
Embarrassed to bother Du Heng again, their only hope now lay with Director Li Jianwei.
Li Jianwei felt his hand tremble slightly as he looked at the prescription.
With his knowledge, after reviewing the prescription twice, he understood Du Heng's thought process and the combination of ingredients. Yet, he had to admit, he couldn't have come up with it himself.
In traditional Chinese medicine, the older a Jianghu doctor gets, the bolder they should become; this is determined by their experience and breadth of knowledge. But having been confined to a framework for too long, Li Jianwei now found that the older he got in Jianghu, the more timid he became.
So, let alone writing such a prescription, he wouldn't even think in this direction when prescribing.
His current approach to prescribing and treating illnesses was mainly based on Verified Prescriptions and well-known formulas, making additions or subtractions on this basis, aiming for safety, stability, and reliability—that was his main line of thought.
Devising his own prescriptions, especially ones as potent as this, Li Jianwei knew it wasn't something he could do, given his temperament.
At this moment, he felt an immense sense of relief and good fortune that he had made the brilliant decision to bring Du Heng over to be his teaching assistant and to have him conduct consultations in the Department for half a day.
With such talent present, the skill level of the doctors in his Department would undoubtedly take a qualitative leap.
No matter when, whether in traditional Chinese medicine or Western medicine, the influence that a top technical expert or an academic leader could have was immeasurable.
His only regret was that the application for Du Heng's lecturer status hadn't been approved.
Looking at the prescription in his hand, for the first time, he began to detest these rigid dogmas.
He was also clear now that given Du Heng's current position and work capabilities, asking him to go back to pursue graduate studies was fundamentally impossible. Besides, no mentor would have the audacity to accept Du Heng; what could they possibly teach him?
Mentors have their pride too, you know!
So, to bring Du Heng into his team, if conventional routes were blocked, then unconventional methods would have to be adopted.
Gazing at the prescription, Li Jianwei's mind had already wandered far off.
Behind him, the Students craning their necks to see the prescription all wore expressions of astonishment.
After Gu Ping finished explaining the situation, someone finally couldn't hold back and asked, "Teacher, we understand the principle of using drastic medicine for severe illness. But the last two items prescribed, sophora wood ear and cutch, don't seem to fit with the rest of the prescription."
As the student's question was voiced, Li Jianwei returned to his senses.
He couldn't have come up with such a prescription, but understanding it was no problem; otherwise, his Professor title would be rather hollow.
"Yes, you also noticed they don't quite fit. That's why these two medicines aren't in the main prescription formula. Instead, they're set apart: one to be taken alone as a powder mixed with water, and the other to be boiled directly and drunk as tea."
Li Jianwei passed the prescription to the Students behind him so they could see the listed medicines more clearly. "In the prescription, there are eleven scorpions and four centipedes. Sophora wood ear has one effect, which is to neutralize scorpion poison. Additionally, sophora wood ear itself also has the properties to break up blood stasis and enhance vitality, making it effective in treating nodules and tumors."
"As for cutch, it has the effects of activating blood and relieving pain, stopping bleeding and promoting tissue regeneration, and astringing dampness and healing sores. When used in conjunction with this prescription, it will provide a good supportive effect."
Li Jianwei looked at the several Students gathered behind him. "A question for you: After reading the prescription, can you tell me what its main therapeutic effect is?"