Alternative Medicine Interest in alternative healthcare has been growing at a phenomenal rate. Each year, Americans spend millions of dollars for vitamins, food supplements, and alternative therapies to augment the traditional healthcare provided by doctors, clinics, and hospitals. The most common reasons is the increasing desire on the part of individuals to take a more active role in improving and maintaining their own health and well-being. The role of public health and the healthcare system in alternative healthcare has not been determined. At this time, very little research has been done on the benefits of these therapies.
Much discussion is needed to clarify public health's role in alternative healthcare.
Genomics Biotechnical advances will rapidly occur after the human genome is completely mapped. Various disease patterns and markers will be identified and this information will revolutionize medicine and public health. There will be implications for screening, vaccinations, prevention, detection, and early treatment of a myriad of conditions from the simple to the serious. Additional problems and conditions that aren't well understood today will be unlocked and for the first time, medicine and public health will begin to address these health concerns. Ethical issues surround this new information will be debated over the coming decade.