Itis: Medicine Without the Mystery

When I was growing up a visit to the doctor ended with a simple diagnosis and a shot or a prescription. To my recollection my parents never questioned a diagnosis or the treatment. The patient was treated as if he or she was ignorant of medical matters.
By the time that I reached medical school not much had changed. It was not until the medical-legal revolution of the late 1970's that some physicians began treating patients as partners in their own care.
I firmly believe that if we educate the patient within a framework that he or she can understand and relate to, then the outcome of their treatment will be more successful.
My solution to the crisis in the delivery of medical care in this country is to bring back the teaching of health and hygiene at every level of primary and secondary education and make it mandatory for all students. In essence we need to educate our people to be their own health care providers.