We were tempted to say that if you were working with drugs all day, you'd be high, too. But then we resisted.

Many pharmacists were willing to help us explain why pharmacists stand on platforms now, but we weren't able to get a fix on earlier practice until we heard from Greg Higby, director of the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin. Higby brings us up to speed on the history of the drugstore platform until World War II.

Before about 1870, prescription compounding areas were by necessity located in the front of the store, near the window - artificial illumination couldn't provide sufficient light for the pharmacist to work effectively. Soda fountains became a craze after 1870, and most drugstores found them to be important profit centers. These fountains, along with better artificial lighting, pushed prescription areas to the back of the store, which hastened other changes. According to Higby:

"From the 1870s through the 1930s, prescription departments were commonly hidden behind a screen or wall from public view. The goods in the stores were sold by clerks from cabinets (no self service).

"Self-service was introduced gradually after 1920. This encouraged pharmacists to open up their prescription departments a bit, sometimes with just a window or viewing hole, so that they could keep an eye on their stock.

"After 1940, many pharmacies remodeled and opened up their Rx departments more. Not only did they want to watch their stock, but they also wanted customers to see them in the back (as evidence of the store's professional owner). Prescription volume increased greatly after 1945, so pharmacists were in the back filling prescriptions more and more; therefore, they could not police the floor as well."

As Higby implies, typically many pharmacists were also the managers of their stores. According to RPh Marsha Holloman, of the American Pharmaceutical Association, one of the main reasons for the high platform was security:

"Traditionally, the pharmacy portion of the drugstore was located in the rear. The pharmacist stood on a raised platform in order to have an unobstructed view of the entire store [handy for spotting shoplifters]. The high prescription counters discouraged patients and customers from entering the area of the drugstore where prescription medications and poisons were kept. The high counters also made it difficult for would-be robbers to gain access to the pharmacy."

But platforms have been popular with pharmacists for a second reason: comfort. RPh Ron Cohen, of the Philadelphia Pharmacy, told Imponderables that after an eight- to twelve-hour shift, he appreciates the cushiony feel of a wooden platform rather than the cold, hard concrete floor. As Holloman puts it,

"A raised platform with a certain amount of give usually means the difference between a healthy, happy pharmacist and a lame, grouchy one!"

Jan Razek, of drugstore chain Revco, points out that a third advantage of a raised counter is greater recognition and prominence for the pharmacist, who is not only located far from the entrance to the store, but would be otherwise visually obscured by aisles of bandages, analgesics, and foot deodorizers.

But all of the pharmacists we spoke to said that the raised platform is increasingly going the way of the drugstore soda fountain. Razek reports that many chains are eliminating the high counters because "customers feel they are being talked down to." Accelerating the demise of the high counter is the increasing interaction among customers and pharmacists. Many pharmacies now feature areas where pharmacists can meet with patrons privately. With the deterioration, for many, of the family doctor-patient relationship, pharmacists have increasingly become the major source for information about medications. As Razek puts it,

"The traditional view of the pharmacist ensconced in the pharmacy behind a high counter and peering down from a raised platform is fast disappearing. I hope that the new view of the pharmacist is of the concerned medication expert who has permanently emerged from behind the pharmacy counter to talk with and educate patients on the proper management of their therapeutic regimens."

All well and good. But do we want to be counseled by a lame, grouchy, platformless pharmacist?

Three reasons:

- see whole store to watch for shoplifters,
- wooden platform more cushioned than hard concrete
- to professionalism and importance of the pharmacist