Medical Care and Health Improvement: The Critical Link
Authors: Julio Frenk
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1998)

Editorials1 September 1998Medical Care and Health Improvement: The Critical LinkJulio Frenk, MD, MPH, PhDJulio Frenk, MD, MPH, PhDCenter on Health and the Economy; Mexican Health Foundation; Mexico City, MexicoAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-129-5-199809010-00014 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail What is the contribution of medical care to health improvement? For decades, this question has occupied and preoccupied countless professionals, researchers, politicians, and members of the public. Health care systems serve many secondary purposes, such as creating jobs or generating profits, but most people would agree that services should be primarily a means toward the end of improved health. However, there is sharp disagreement about the strength of this relation compared with other factors that determine health status. The implications of this discrepancy go beyond academic interest to include key policy matters.The "In the Balance" papers in this issue ...References1. Andrulis DP. Access to care is the centerpiece in the elimination of socioeconomic disparities in health. Ann Intern Med. 1998; 129:412-6. Google Scholar2. Pincus T, Esther R, DeWalt DA, Callahan LF. Social conditions and self-management are more powerful determinants of health than access to care. Ann Intern Med. 1998; 129:406-11. Google Scholar3. Dubos R. Mirage of Health: Utopias, Progress, and Biological Change. New York: Harper & Row; 1959. Google Scholar4. McKeown T. The Role of Medicine: Dream, Mirage, or Nemesis? 2d ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ Pr; 1979. Google Scholar5. Starr P. The politics of therapeutic nihilism. Working Papers. 1976; Summer:48-55. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Julio Frenk, MD, MPH, PhDAffiliations: Center on Health and the Economy; Mexican Health Foundation; Mexico City, MexicoCorresponding Author: Julio Frenk, MD, MPH, PhD, Fundacion Mexicana para la Salud, Periferico Sur 4809, Mexico, D.F. 14610, Mexico. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoSocial Conditions and Self-Management Are More Powerful Determinants of Health Than Access to Care Theodore Pincus , Robert Esther , Darren A. DeWalt , and Leigh F. Callahan Access to Care Is the Centerpiece in the Elimination of Socioeconomic Disparities in Health Dennis P. Andrulis Metrics Cited byA Definition and Key Features of Empathy in Patient CareHealth disparities across the lifespan: Meaning, methods, and mechanismsDesigualdades y servicios de saludThe Revolutionary Health Science of Psychoendoneuroimmunology: A New Paradigm for Understanding Health and Treating IllnessHow the Mind Hurts and Heals the Body.Measuring Contextual Characteristics for Community HealthChildren can't wait: Improving the future for the world's poorest infantsRéférences bibliographiques 1 September 1998Volume 129, Issue 5Page: 419-420KeywordsHealth careHealth promotionMedical servicesMortalityNutritionPopulation statisticsPrevention, policy, and public healthPublic policySanitationSocial status ePublished: 15 August 2000 Issue Published: 1 September 1998 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 1998 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...