Public and Community Health

Friends, Americans, patients, come lend me your ears:
I come to defend medical care, not to praise it.

I defend medical care from criticism and attack. The defense is justified because medical care saves lives of the sick and injured. I cannot praise medical care due to its low capability to cure disease. Because we expect more from medical care than we should and neglect health care, the consequence is promotion of sickness and development of medical care as a business enterprise. But medical care is not health care. Health care would balance the health system and gradually reduce the need for medical care. The focus on health promotion and disease prevention provides a goal of good health. Medical care would continue to be available, if necessary, and expensive but it would be the alternative not the goal.