Chapter 630: "Arcane" or "Magic"?
Third-tier enterprises focus on products.
This was the situation when Garrett first launched the clinic. He would wait patiently, hoping for patients to come in, and treat them one by one. But what about customer sources and income?
Second-tier enterprises focus on brand.
This was the case after Garrett gradually made a name for his clinic. I can treat diseases others can treat, and I can also treat diseases others can’t, even diseases others don’t even know about.
First-tier enterprises set standards.
Garrett thought it would take years, but now he could achieve it in one step, and even cooperate directly with the Health Insurance Bureau—
What does this mean?
Private hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and medical equipment manufacturers around the world would probably be grinning from ear to ear.
I say it can be covered, and it will be covered; I say it cannot, and it won’t. This is like the Health Insurance Bureau opening its pockets for me to dig money out of!
Of course, obtaining this power was not easy. As the old lady said:
"At the very least, you would need to publish a paper on ‘Arcane’..."
Only papers published in the top journals like ‘Magic’ and ‘Arcane’ qualify to push for policy changes and add new billing items to the health insurance agenda.
Of course, this would be an almost impossible task for a normal level 6 mage. For Garrett though...
The old lady took off her reading glasses, cast a cleaning spell, and put them back on her nose. Adjusting them, she looked at Garrett and smiled:
"But for you, this shouldn’t be a difficulty, right? How many papers have you published in ‘Magic’ and ‘Arcane’ by now..."
But no matter how many, the papers in top journals demand very high standards.
It’s either about researching cutting-edge magic or solving long-standing issues in the magic community, or it offers significant guidance...
Previously, Garrett published a paper on heart surgery; before that, one on the smallpox vaccine; and before that, he was co-first author with other mages on a paper about infrared and ultraviolet light.
Each paper was epoch-making, enough to occupy several lines in medical history or even the entire history of science.
As for the cesarean section, he had already finished writing about the procedure itself. Copying a bit from books, excerpting from his own surgical records, that would be enough for a paper. But to establish a standard sufficient to negotiate with the council...
What are the indications for cesarean delivery, what are the absolute indications, and what are the relative indications? Which spells are absolutely necessary, and which are needed in certain conditions?
Data from 200 cases were still far from enough.
"Lady, may I collaborate with you to write this paper? Listed as co-first authors, I'll handle the writing, and you provide the data..."
"Are you interested in the cases here?" Mrs. Exler said cheerfully.
This Master Nordmark is truly spirited, saying he’ll write a paper for ‘Arcane’ as if he could just declare it done...
Even for her, a level 13 great mage, publishing a top-tier paper required a lot of effort and years of hard research. At best, she only had a fifty percent chance.
She shook her head, not waiting for Garrett to persuade her, and then nodded:
"Ah, you can certainly use the data here. But not as co-first authors—listen, this treatment method is your innovation, I haven’t really done anything."
She raised a finger, shook it, and then pointed outside:
"At most, second author—or, perhaps, I could assign a student to assist you, and you could list her name as the second author?"
Garrett promptly agreed to collaborate with her, acquiring a heap of data. One space bag couldn’t even hold it all; he called two cargo wagons to transport these precious medical records back to his mage tower.
Mrs. Exler had been devoted to gynecology for over thirty years, delivering tens of thousands of women, with hundreds of death records. In the old lady’s eyes, these records were regrets, pain; but in Garrett’s eyes, they were veritable gold mines.
"MOSS! MOSS!"
He started shouting right at the entrance of the mage tower. A flash of light at the tower entrance, a breeze emerged, spinning in place. Garrett knew without looking that it was MOSS dispatching invisible servants:
"Help me get these into the study! Ah, sort them by year, each year in a cabinet, and pick out all the death records, each with a red ribbon!"
"Master, may MOSS remind you, your study cannot accommodate so much data..." MOSS’s flat voice drifted outside the mage tower. Garrett thoughtlessly replied:
"Then put it in the bedroom! The living room! Open a
room! Just leave it to you! I’m heading back to the hospital, and when I return, I want to see all the death records sorted out!"
With that, he hopped on Apa and took off. In the air, the dense hoofbeats of Apa mixed with MOSS’s soft sigh:
"Master, how would you manage without MOSS..."
Garrett was busy at the hospital until evening, saw a bunch of new patients, and then lethargically returned on the back of a silver moon deer. He climbed into the mage tower, lay in the elevator being transported to the top, half-dead, staggered into the study—
Hundreds of eyes floated, flashed, blinking at him!
"MOSS!"
Garrett's hair stood on end: "What have you done to this!" Scared him half to death in the middle of the night!
"Master, the mage tower lacks a whole piece of red silk, so I had to cut this one..."
"..." In his memory, MOSS was still a newly purchased, untrained tower spirit with a very rigid personality; how did it turn out like this?
Was it because he interacted too infrequently with the tower spirit? Or was it influenced by something negative? Or perhaps, he should fulfill a mage tower owner’s duty, giving the tower spirit a lot of data to process daily?
Garrett hummed and got into work mode, pulled out a medical record tied with a red ribbon, and flipped it open:
"Mother, 25 years old, healthy body, water broke 1 hour before arrival... Pain for 15 hours, cervix not dilated beyond half, exhausted, supported with spells like Inspire, Soothe, Rejuvenate..."
"In 3 hours, used Inspire once, Soothe once, Rejuvenate twice, cervix dilated to 6 fingers..."
"Heart rate 85 beats/min, breathing 25 times/min..."
"After 5 hours, extremely weak..."
"In the 6th hour, sudden convulsions, resuscitation ineffective, death..."
So, what was the situation?
What about the mother's blood pressure?
The position of the fetus?
The fetal heart rate?
Sudden convulsions could be eclampsia, but it might not be; in fact, the causes of convulsions could be hysteria, high blood pressure encephalopathy, cerebrovascular accident, epilepsy, intracranial tumor, hypoglycemia, hypocalcemia, among many others...
Without adequate records, even no prenatal care, it's really troublesome... This data can't be used at all!
Garrett muttered and pulled out another medical record. This one had even less data, the patient began bleeding profusely upon arrival, resuscitated for two hours, used [Heal Major Injury] three times, the baby could not be delivered, the mother died. As for why the bleeding?
Was it placenta previa? Placental abruption? Or other various reasons?
Sorry, no.
"This data isn't much use either..."
So, out of several hundred death records, how many are actually usable?
Garrett flattened the records on the table, clasped his head, and sighed. After sighing a few times, he got up just to pull out the third record, when there was a knock at the study door.
"Come in!"
Garrett called without turning his head. However, no one came in, instead, it was MOSS’s unchanging voice:
"Master, your letter."
...So it was the invisible servants knocking? Or was it MOSS simulating the knocking sound?
MOSS, you're getting cheekier!
But indeed, there was a letter. The invisible servant came in with a copper tray, placed a beautifully framed letter on his desk, and casually picked up a small knife to help open it. Garrett marveled at MOSS's increasing intelligence, pulled out the letter and read:
"Dear Master Nordmark:
Greetings!
We are pleased to hear that you have achieved considerable success in cesarean delivery and are preparing to start writing your paper. Considering this technique could broadly benefit every mage, we sincerely invite you to publish your paper in 'Common Mage Monthly.'
Yours sincerely,
Elena Murray
'Common Mage Monthly' Editorial Department"
...Good, the paper isn't even finished, and there's already a journal guaranteed. If it weren't for wanting to battle it out with the council's higher-ups, publishing here wouldn't be bad, more people would see it...
"MOSS, help me draft a reply, just say I appreciate their invitation, but I am currently fully engaged in writing the paper, and am not considering the direction of submission for the time being."
"Okay, Master!"
Garrett pulled out the third, fourth, fifth medical records, looking through them, sighing again and again. After reviewing the fifth medical record, he stood by the window and rubbed his eyes, suddenly noticing a small light
growing larger, heading straight for the mage tower.
Getting closer, getting brighter. Until it was near, it turned out to be a metal bird. Its splendid and dazzling form, with long tail feathers, made an extremely light turn outside the window, landing on the windowsill, peeking slightly with two knocks.
Whose great mage’s messenger could this be?
Garrett curiously opened the window, the bird fluttered in, spitting out a scroll tied with a ribbon. Garrett untied it to read, also a letter of invitation:
"Dear Master Nordmark:
Greetings!
We are delighted to hear that you have started to write your paper on cesarean delivery...
...
...
'Magic' Editorial Department"
Well, 'Magic' has also sent an invitation?
This is a great thing, 'Magic' and 'Arcane' are equivalent to 'Nature' and 'Science' from another era, their influence is unparalleled. Regardless of which one he submits to, the persuasive power would be strong enough to confidently face the council.
But what I really want to submit to is 'Cell', or maybe 'The Lancet' or 'New England'...
Why can’t this world have a 'Life' besides 'Magic' and 'Arcane'?