The Goals of Medicine: The Forgotten Issue in Health Care Reform

This book is the result of an international conference of fourteen countries converging to discuss the current state and future direction of modern medicine. Input was derived from multiple sectors: medicine, allied health care, political, social, religious, economic, etc. The purpose is to bring the national/international discussion of health care up from the pragmatic discussions of technological ability and implementation to a philosophical discussion of the ends of medicine. The first quarter of the book contains the established statement of the body. The remainder is a series of essays by individuals which delve more deeply into particular points agreed upon by the body. The book is recommend for those working in health care fields, or those fields directly abutting it, especially those involved in policy-making. Though not technical (a layman can appreciate it if she is truly interested) it is highly philosophical. Much of the material centers around the questions "what is medicine" and "what are the ends which medicine intends to bring about".