IS SOCIAL MEDICINE RELEVANT TO MEDICAL PRACTICE TODAY?

Abstract

This review is an attempt to describe the important role
of Social Medicine in current medical practice based on a
cross sectional exploratory research of literature on the
topic.
Promoting research activities among medical
undergraduates and graduates regarding Social Medicine
and its role to improve global health is recognized by the
World Health Organization (WHO), because it helps to
improve the education system and health of populations.
Hundreds of millions of people around the world are
getting sick or even dying because they sought medical
treatment and its cost the healthcare providers a lot of
money worldwide but does not provide better health for
the population. It is a long standing challenge for medical
professionals to promote health globally with a focus on a
sustainable, cost effective, and affordable health delivery
system. WHO has clearly defined that to meet this
challenge “better health for all†primary health care should
be based on sustainable and affordable quality health care,
accessible for individual and families without any
discrimination in society.
Social Medicine has a common perception to be shared by
every society of the world: that to improve the health of
the population, certain community-based research and
academic activities in health systems based on social role
of the society may influence the attitude of the individuals
and medical practices. Present medical education focuses
at molecular levels and there is a gap between social
analysis and everyday clinical practices. Social and
economic determinants profoundly impact health, disease,
and the practice of medicine in society. Social Medicine
aims to understand, how social and economic condition of
an individual and families influence health and disease as
well as the practice of medicine, and fosters conditions in
which this understanding can lead to a healthy society.
Social Medicine teaches that the creation of equal
opportunity for all, lowering and containing the health care
costs and elimination of user fear and concern regarding
quality of health delivery system in the society can achieve
the goals of better health.
Keywords: Social Medicine; Health Services Research;
Practice Management, Medical; Primary Health Care.