DEPARTMENT OF PRACTICAL CASE MANAGEMENT


The physician who has his patients fill out some such form in addition to the usual taking of the case by direct interview will have more data on which to base a prescription than will those who limit themselves entirely to the ordinary methods.


A NEW REPORT FORM.

Experience in using the Case Record form described in the August, 1937 Recorder has demonstrated its practical value both for office use and long distance prescribing.

The physician who has his patients fill out some such form in addition to the usual taking of the case by direct interview will have more data on which to base a prescription than will those who limit themselves entirely to the ordinary methods.

The questions as to when to repeat, when to change the potency and when to select a new remedy are not always easy to answer by any means. The follow-up of a case both at first hand and via correspondence is very essential in holding ones clientele and in achieving a good average of therapeutic results.

As an aid to follow-up work and in observing the action of the prescribed remedy the new Report form, illustrated herewith, will be found of practical value. Patients appreciate such forms and take a real interest in filling them out. In office work it is unnecessary to use the form for every visit but for an occasional special check-up it will prove very satisfactory.

The Report form is printed on both sides of a sheet measuring six and one quarter by seven inches. This will make a four page folder which will fit easily into a six and one-half inch envelope.

The scheme is not copyrighted and any homoeopathic physician is more than welcome to have such forms printed for his own use or to make such modifications as may best suit the particular requirements of his practice.

CASE REPORT.

Fill in your name and address; mark as directed and mail to.

PHYSICIANS FULL NAME AND ADDRESS.

Name…………………………

Address……………………….

Date:………………………..

Mark an X in the square before each fact that relates to your present condition. Skip those that do not apply or that you are in doubt about:.

Feel some better

Much better

Feel worse

Better mentally

Better physically

No change in my condition

Have better color

Friends say I look better

Friends say I look badly

Feel more hopeful

More depressed

Digestion better

Suffer from indigestion

Food tastes better

Nothing tastes as it should

Better appetite

Appetite poor

Not as nervous

More nervous

Feel stronger

Feel weaker

Bowels more normal

Bowels constipated

Diarrhoea

Inclined to feel too warm

Inclined to feel too cold

Sensitive to drafts

Sleep better

Sleep poorly

Have more endurance

Have more ambition.

What complaint or condition troubles you most at present?

What parts of the body seem to be chiefly affected at present?

What is your weight?

Are you gaining or losing?.

Remarks:

Complete menus for one day (including beverages)

Breakfast:

Noon meal:

Evening meal:

Between meals:

Before retiring:

For which meal is your appetite the best?

What foods do you especially crave?

What foods do you dislike?

What foods appear to disagree?.

QUESTION AND ANSWER DEPARTMENT

[Send questions to Dr. Eugene Underhill, Jr., 2010 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Penna.].

Question: WHY IS THE FIRST PRESCRIPTION OF A REMEDY OFTEN MORE EFFECTIVE THAN SUBSEQUENT PRESCRIPTIONS?.

Answer: In general it may be assumed that the more completely indicated the remedy the more vigorous will be the reaction to the repetition of it. The first dose of a partial similar may be fairly effective and yet subsequent repetition, even in a higher potency, almost of no avail. Too frequent repetition of a medicine is apt to weaken the reaction. The effect of the first dose should be completed before another cycle of remedial action is inaugurated.

Question: IS SUCCUSSION AN ESSENTIAL IN PREPARING HOMOEOPATHIC POTENCIES AS WAS ADVOCATED BY HAHNEMANN AND OTHER EARLY WRITERS?.

Answer: It may be of value but it is most certainly not essential. Contact is all that is really necessary.

Question: WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT, THE REMEDY OR THE DIET, IN THE TREATMENT OF DISEASE?.

Answer: This is hardly a fair question. It all depends upon the condition and requirements of the individual patient. However, in general we may say that it requires the remedy to really turn a case in the right direction and it requires sane living, diet and all the rest to satisfactorily hold ones gains. Homoeopathy, after all, is not a substitute for a clean wholesome mode of life nor will the most brilliant prescription save a food indefinitely from the logical consequences of his unremitting pursuit of folly.

Question: PAPILLOMA OF THE VOCAL CORDS IS THE PROPOSITION THAT NOW IS BAFFLING ME AND I NEED SOMEONE TO SUGGEST LIKELY REMEDIES WITH THEIR POTENCIES, MY PATIENT HAS BEEN ADVISED BY A LOCAL SPECIALIST TO LET HIM OPERATE BY CUTTING THROUGH THE TRACHEA. MY PATIENT WAS SINGING BASS IN THE CHURCH CHOIR AND FOUND SOME DIFFICULTY IN MANAGING THE LOWER NOTES. I AM WONDERING IF THIS COULD HAVE BEEN A CONTRIBUTING CAUSE. -H.C. Sanders, M.D., 136 Victoria St. S., Amherst, N.S.

Answer: According to the medical dictionary papillomata include warts, condylomas, cutaneous horns, polypi and so forth. This places them definitely in the sycotic list. Any of the following remedies may be indicated depending upon the individualizing symptoms of the particular patient: Arg. nit., Berberis, Calc. c., Hepar, Kali br., Merc. c., Nat. sulph., Nit. ac., Sang., Staph., Thuja.

While these are all very likely remedies it would be a mistake to assume that the remedy is absolutely included within so small a list. Consult the rubrics Condylomata and Polypi under the throat section of Kents Repertory, also remedies listed under Warts in the skin section and finally the rubric Sycosis. Any of these remedies may be prescribed in either the 30th or the 200th potency.

Eugene Underhill
Dr Eugene Underhill Jr. (1887-1968) was the son of Eugene and Minnie (Lewis) Underhill Sr. He was a graduate of Swarthmore College and the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. A homeopathic physician for over 50 years, he had offices in Philadelphia.

Eugene passed away at his country home on Spring Hill, Tuscarora Township, Bradford County, PA. He had been in ill health for several months. His wife, the former Caroline Davis, whom he had married in Philadelphia in 1910, had passed away in 1961. They spent most of their marriage lives in Swarthmore, PA.

Dr. Underhill was a member of the United Lodge of Theosophy, a member of the Philadelphia County Medical Society, and the Pennsylvania Medical Society. He was also the editor of the Homœopathic Recorder.