The Private Physician and Preventive Medicine

The fields of preventive medicine and public health have to a large degree been commingled, so that in the minds of many the terms are more or less synonymous. Some, however, wish to draw a clearcut line between the two. Many physicians seldom stop to think how much of their activity, and how many services they render to patients, are actually preventive in character. These services are usually rendered as remedial of illness and are, therefore, looked on as curative. It is difficult to differentiate clearly among public health, preventive medicine and curative medicine; indeed, it is neither necessary nor really desirable that sharp lines be drawn between them.
Source: JAMA - Category: General Medicine Source Type: research