Teadrop Sea Islands Medicine Trust
When the modern healthcare system was established, so was the Medicine Trust, to expand the production of elixirs for treating common ailments, bringing the price down for patients and the newly-established Hospital Trust.
Originally the Medicine Trust was completely funded by taxes and mandatory "donations" (fines from those who deal in illegal high-risk activities). Over time it expanded on the back of public donations, creating research labs and employing full-time employees dedicated to finding better treatments. Currently, taxes and the money from point of sale covers the cost of producing the elixirs, and additional donations fund research and development of new treatments.
Weeders and professional foragers are employed to acquire necessary ingredients for elixirs, although the most common ones that are safe and practical to do so are grown on site. Alchemists and physicians work in the laboratories to prepare them. While there are now multiple Medicine Trust sites across the Teardrop Sea, many uncommon elixirs are still sent out centrally from their headquarters in Halved Isle. The Medicine Trust supplies the Hospital Trust and registered Independent Practitioners, and treatments which don't require specialist expertise are sold in licensed pharmacies.
History
Since the founding of the Medicine Trust, the cost of elixirs has reduced to a fraction of what it used to, but the quality has also become much higher, making taking them safer for patients. Some traditional families still prefer to make their own elixirs for common ailments, but this is uncommon now that there are standards of practise.
One of the most outstanding innovations in the history of the Medicine Trust is the discovery of the uses of two unique mushrooms: deadly cat's eyes and deadly sleep. The former was already known to change colour in the presence of poison lavender, and experiments with the fungus determined that it can be used to detect and identify a huge range of natural toxins. A bottle of its essence is now kept in every medicine cabinet. Deadly sleep, on the other hand, was once best-known for causing fatal or near-fatal comas when accidentally ingested. In recent years, specially prepared extracts have proved to have potent medicinal benefits that can treat a range of illnesses, including ones previously incurable.
Comments