Medical is the discipline concerned with human health and the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease. It is an applied science whose fundamental principles are founded upon knowledge gained from the scientific method. Medicine is considered to be a social service and as such its activities are guided by the ethical values of beneficence, justice and respect for persons.
The practice of medicine encompasses a wide range of services and specialties including primary care, acute and chronic illness management, preventive health maintenance, education and research. Primary care physicians, usually family doctors or general practitioners, are the first point of contact for most patients with non-emergency problems. They often work in office based practices, emergency departments and in hospital outpatient clinics.
Specialty care providers such as gynecologists, neurologists, gastroenterologists and endocrinologists focus on specific organ systems or disease processes. For example, gynecology is concerned with the physiology of women’s bodies and reproductive organs; neurology is the study of disorders of the brain and spinal cord; and endocrinology is the study of hormones and their effects on bodily functions.
Modern medicine is a highly technical and complex field. It is influenced by scientific advances such as biochemistry, microbiology and molecular biology; the increasing use of information technology; and changes in cultural attitudes and values. For instance, the germ theory of disease has been replaced by the epigenetics and environmental influences on gene expression theories of illness. These new insights have contributed to advances in diagnostic methods, therapy and prognosis, as well as in the understanding of the pathogenesis (cause) of disease.
A basic tenet of medicine is that the attainment of a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being is a fundamental human right. However, it is also recognized that the attainment of this goal requires the efforts of many sectors of society in addition to the health sector.
Most contemporary medicine is practiced within health care systems that provide credentialing, licensing and financing frameworks. These systems are shaped by the legal, political and economic environments in which they operate.
The health care system is a complex and expensive enterprise. The cost of providing medical care has been rising worldwide in recent years. This is partly due to the fact that medicine has expanded beyond curing illness to include a wide variety of “para-curative” functions such as evaluation and certification of health status, the grading or ranking of health conditions, the segregation of the sick to limit communicable diseases, and counseling and support services. These functions, which are often considered to be essential components of health care, are referred to as the “caring function” of medicine.