Asks basic questions about the purposes and ends of medicine and shows that the answers have practical implications for health care delivery, medical research, and the education of medical students. This book touches on a range of diverse issues such as genetic technology, Chinese medicine, care of the elderly, and prevention and public health.

In this book, international teams of physicians, nurses, public health experts, philosophers, theologians, politicians, administrators, social workers, and lawyers articulate four basic goals of medicine and examine them in light of the cultural, political, and economic pressures under which medicine functions. Discussing prevention of disease, relief of suffering, care of the ill, and avoidance of premature death, contributors clearly demonstrate the importance of clarifying the purposes of medicine before attempting to change economic and organizational systems.