The Doctor's Little Girl Read Online Free PDF Page A

was serious enough, he had recommended a patient for gastric bypass, but he had never written a prescription for weight-loss drugs. Maybe he was old-fashioned, but it just didn’t seem worth the risks.
    Marcel’s face changed, looking disappointed by Andrew’s tone. “You say that like it’s a bad thing! Since you’re a doctor, you must know how much of a problem obesity is for the modern American. It’s not just a cosmetic problem, it’s a serious health issue. We have a medication here that can help to treat this in patients; what’s not to love about that?”
    Andrew tried to be as careful with his wording as possible. “I’d consider prescribing Mialis in a few years, after it’s had more research and documentation on the long-term effects. I personally prefer not to write scripts for drugs that are brand new and haven’t gone through as rigorous of testing yet.”
    Marcel looked like he was trying to put his smiling face back on, but was having trouble doing so. “Mialis is well-tested, Andrew! It’s fully FDA approved. You don’t get that approval without doing all the proper testing.”
    Andrew had no comment that wasn’t sarcastic. Of course he fully supported the FDA, but Marcel’s wording implied that their seal of approval meant that nothing could go wrong, and the stats that he had seen at his conference suggested otherwise to him.
    “It’s been FDA approved to promote wakefulness in patients. Its use as a weight-loss drug is currently untested, as far as I understand.”
    “Andrew, lots of wonderful drugs get used off label. As long as you’re following the dosing guide, it doesn’t matter what it’s being prescribed for. Here, you can take a look at our pamphlet about how to prescribe Mialis for weight loss.” He handed Andrew a booklet with a picture of two happy, smiling, very fit people walking in a park on the cover.
    Andrew began to flip through it as Marcel talked. “As word spreads about Mialis and what it can do, we know that patients are going to be coming in to request it by name. It’s a real booster for your practice, too, because once you prescribe Mialis, patients need monthly checkups to make sure that they’re getting the results that they want from it…”
    “And to screen them for heart conditions?” Andrew interrupted, his tone becoming less controlled.
    “Of course any drug has risks associated with it,” was all Marcel replied. He stood up. “I’ll leave that pamphlet with you, and a few other materials.” He reached into his bag and pulled out some more drug-related literature, which he handed to Andrew. “I’ll be back through in a couple of weeks to see if you have any more questions for me. Thanks so much for your time.”
    He offered his hand to Andrew, who shook it as a matter of courtesy. Andrew got up and showed him to the door. After Marcel left, Andrew took a few moments to look over the papers that he’d been given. The dosing guide included information for prescribing Mialis for weight loss for patients as young as fourteen. Andrew crumpled the booklet and tossed it into the trash.
     
    * * *
     
    The next day, Andrew brought Molly into the office to show her around and introduce her to Rebecca and Samantha, who had both agreed to come in on a Sunday to get to know her. Both ladies seemed to be pretty accepting of what Andrew had decided to do, but Rebecca’s motherly instincts made her take to Molly particularly quickly. Andrew could tell that Sam found the situation a little weird, but at the same time, she was happy for the help.
    Molly had showed up to leave for work wearing a crumpled-looking navy blue skirt, which Andrew had guessed was the bottom half of her airline uniform, and a plain white t-shirt. She had paired them with her ballet flats again. Not sure what to do about this, he hadn’t said anything. But now, in the office, while Samantha was showing Molly how the appointment scheduling system worked, he pulled Rebecca aside