No quality health care without strong public health

Public health is in the same business as the rest of the health care system: saving lives and reducing suffering. But it does so by intervening before--rather than after--the onset of disease or injury. Public health is an important contributor to quality health care, as we can see if we consider th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Medical Association journal (CMAJ) 2017-11, Vol.189 (46), p.E1435-E1435
Main Author: Hancock, Trevor
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Canada
Coda
Disease prevention
Diseases
Health Care Costs
Health care expenditures
Health care policy
Health care reform
Humans
Prevention
Public health
Public Health - standards
Quality of Health Care - standards
Sustainability
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Summary:Public health is in the same business as the rest of the health care system: saving lives and reducing suffering. But it does so by intervening before--rather than after--the onset of disease or injury. Public health is an important contributor to quality health care, as we can see if we consider the Triple Aim of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, a well-recognized set of goals for the health care system. The first of the triple aims is to improve the health of populations, which is precisely the objective of public health. At a time when governments and health authorities are struggling to contain health care costs, amid general concerns about the financial sustainability of the health care system, one would think that the rest of the health care system would be interested in a strong public health system.
ISSN:0820-3946
1488-2329
DOI:10.1503/cmaj.171287