7^th Epidemiology and Public Health Conference

Biography

Biography: Félix Cantarovich

Abstract

The primary intention of this study is to discuss about a current health, social and economic crisis, mainly generated by the privileged advance of medical sciences in the last decades. The success, in medical action against diseases, plus the progress in the average life survival of the population, has conditioned a progressive increase of patients that have reached “end stage organ failure”, the terminal phase of different organic systems indispensable for life. In parallel, the advancement in scientific research and medical engineering, has achieved a significant development of the substitution of vital organs, particularly through the systems of extracorporeal dialysis, and as well by the vertiginous advance of organ transplantation. On the other hand, these positive alternative solutions of each individual case, have conditioned, a global and urgent social problem, the insufficient organ donation by the people. Concomitantly and significantly linked with this crisis of public health, the globally economic resources, and therefore the real possibilities of people’s assistance by social security, have been seriously compromised, by the high cost of hemodialysis and as well by the inexorably annual increase of patients requiring this solution to stay alive. The most possible alternatives for to solve this complex socio-economic crisis, which tends to unbalance the response of social security institutions to the people needs, could stand on the prevention of terminal renal failure and as well on a deep and modern social education on this problem, supporting the significant people’s requirements of organ donation. In 1948 Rudolph Virchow, the eminent author of cell pathology, launched the revolutionary concept of Social Medicine: "Medicine is a social science whose politics is nothing more than medicine on grand scale. Referring to physicians he wrote, "Physicians are the natural advocates of the poor and the social problems fall for the most part under their jurisdiction". Regarding these thoughts, I will like to add the following words: “If the disease is a social evil, medicine must be a social good". Today, these notions about preventive medicine and Social Security resources should be evaluated in relation to the innovative practice to help survival of patients with end organ failure, of vital artificial organs and organ transplantation, medical achievements actively developed since 1960. A main possibility to improving this very serious health and economic crisis, should be to establish States clear and well-defined health prevention policies and as well a more active and effective participation of medical professional and their representative institutions, in the worldwide development of health prevention programs.