"Eventually I want every critter doctor and hospital to have one, if I can make them good enough." She also wants every human doctor and hospital to have one, but that's a separate problem. 

The doctor whistles. "I guess we'd make up for it in volume, if people came in for the sniffles."

Nod nod. "How much do you think it'll make you per month, if the other doctors here decide to get one too?"

"I'm not sure. It might break even in dollars or worse, but I guess it'd cut way down on all the insurance headaches."

"And if it replaces a prescription you can charge whatever the prescription would have cost, maybe?" 

"Competition applies to doctors as much as anyone else. My practice is the only practice treating adults in this Avalon right now, so we can collude without outright forming a cartel, but if the pediatrician or that vet broadens their practice or someone who isn't even a doctor could make two dollars a pop charging someone to touch a rock - I don't know how much you're going to charge for the rocks -"

"I don't know either. I want to do whatever gets the most people healed and doesn't get anybody in legal trouble."

"You could insist on only selling them to doctors, so we know to keep an eye out if someone comes in with something we don't know to be on the list of things the rock handles alone. That'd make it easier to navigate the business end."

"I could do that for now, and probably should, the rock isn't nearly as comprehensive as proper medical treatment. I wouldn't want to commit to doing that forever, though."

"I suppose not. I'll make sure to save for my retirement. It's one thing if people use these for colds, though - it's another if they heal superficially but leave you contagious, or mask the symptoms we use to catch things like cancer early so we don't find it till it's late."

Nod. "That's why the main thing I want is the information. What it's good for, what it isn't, what things it helps with the symptoms of but doesn't fix, any effects that somebody might not want every time like if it 'fixes' the effects of exercise and makes you build muscle slowly or something. I want to learn enough to advise people better, and enough to make better versions that don't have any flaws this one might."

"I'll actually need Avalon council permission to experiment on people."

"That makes sense. Do you need anything from me for that?"

"You might need to testify to them what testing you've done so far."

"I can do that. . . . Was I supposed to have gotten council permission first? I don't actually live here."

"I don't think they have general rules about practicing magic outside of the Avalon, it's just that experimenting on people is very fraught, you'd have the same problem if you wanted to test a new drug or other treatment that wasn't magical at all."

"That makes sense. Do you want my email address, so you can get in touch with me if and when I need to testify? And how long is getting permission likely to take?"

"This isn't a real IRB, it'll probably be less than a week. Your phone number would be good."

"I don't have my own phone and my parents know some stuff but not everything, I'll give you my home phone but please make sure it's me on the line before you start talking about the Avalon."

"Will it work if I say I'm Dr. James and imply it's about a medical condition or should I use a different excuse?"

"That should be fine." Note to self, tell parents you're collaborating on magical medical research with Dr. James and if she calls they should give you the phone.

Dr. James writes this down.

"It sounds like that's all we can do for now. Do you think it's okay for me to keep treating people, or should I put that on hold until the council gets back to you?"

"If you're taking down data on it that might qualify as experimenting on people."

"I guess I can wait a week, then."