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636 the medical society of the state of north carolina The physician's first responsibility to his patient is the diagnosis of the patient's condition. The health officer should not be content to treat the symptoms of the community. He should make an earnest endeavor to diagnose its ills. Communities have individuality. They differ from each other just as people differ. The causes of infant mortality in one community may be greatly different from those in another community. In community medicine, we should have individual diagnosis just as we expect the practicing physician to make a diagnosis on each of his patients. The case record of a community will disclose that the family history with its consideration of racial tendencies, susceptibility, immunities, etc., is important, as is the past history of epidemics, disasters, etc. In the preliminary physical examination, we should consider the geographical location, the topography, the climate, the population and its makeup, the occupation of the people, housing conditions, recreational facilities, etc. Careful scrutiny should be made of the water supply, the milk supply, the food supply, and the excrement disposal system, for these factors have a distinct bearing on the health of the community. They are fundamentals. While much progress has been made in the water supply, the milk supply, and excrement disposal problems, the food supply problem has been sadly neglected with great frequency. This is particularly true of our meats. Locally slaughtered meats are often disgraceful to the community in which they are marketed. The health officer has a distinct responsibility in this problem. It is a responsibility he should not shirk. The examination should proceed with a careful study of each and every factor which contributes to community health or disease. The temperature, pulse, and respiration chart of our patient is the mortality statistics of our community. Each health officer should make a monthly and yearly compilation of these data. In communities of relatively small population, such as we have in North Carolina, the abridged international classification of causes of death would seem to be more practical and more informative than the complete list. Following the assembly of these data, they should be carefully analyzed. We should have causes of death by ages. Crude rates for organic heart disease, for instance, are misleading. At present we assume that every person is born to die. It is those who die before reaching the age of reasonable expectancy that demand the thoughtful study of the health officer. Infant mortality rates without an analysis of causes and ages are confusing. The degenerative diseases are almost without exception a major problem in every community. The importance of this problem can only be determined by a studjr of the vital statistics. Definite information is necessary for an accurate diagnosis. Morbidity statistics, while less accurate than mortality statistics, are valuable sources of information. In studying sickness and death, we must consider norms and trends in order to detect variations or fluctuations. This may be all painstaking and tedious but it gives the information which we need for intelligent diagnosis. Responsibility for making a diagnosis rests upon the health officer but there is no necessity for his endeavoring to do this unaided and alone.
Object Description
Rating | |
Fixed Title * | NCHH-16: Transactions of the Medical Society of the State of North Carolina [1891-1939] |
Document Title | Transactions of the Medical Society of the State of North Carolina [1891-1939] |
Subject Topical | Medicine -- North Carolina -- Societies, etc. |
Subject Topical Other | Societies, Medical -- North Carolina. |
Description | After 1939 transactions published in the North Carolina Medical Journal |
Creator | Medical Society of the State of North Carolina. Annual Session. |
Publisher | Raleigh, N.C. : Medical Society of the State of North Carolina, 1891-1939. |
Repository | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Health Sciences Library. |
Host | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Date | 1928 |
Identifier | NCHH-16-075 |
Form General | Periodicals |
Language | English |
Rights | This item is part of the North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection. Some materials in the Collection are protected by U.S. copyright law. This item is presented by the Health Sciences Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for research and educational purposes. It may not be republished or distributed without permission of the Health Sciences Library. |
Digital Collection | North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection |
Sponsor | The North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection is an open access publishing initiative of the Health Sciences Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Financial support for the initiative was provided in part by a multi-year NC ECHO (Exploring Cultural Heritage Online) digitization grant, awarded by the State Library of North Carolina, and funded through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). |
Volume Number | 75 |
Health Discipline | Medicine |
Digital Format | JPEG 2000 |
Print / Download PDF Version | http://archives.hsl.unc.edu/nchh/nchh-16/nchh-16-075.pdf |
Document Sort | all; group-d; nchh-16 |
Volume Link | http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/search/collection/nchh/field/identi/searchterm/NCHH-16-075 |
Title Link | http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/search/collection/nchh/field/documa/searchterm/NCHH-16 |
Catalog Record link | http://search.lib.unc.edu/search?R=UNCb2983307 |
Description
Fixed Title * | Page 636 |
Document Title | Transactions of the Medical Society of the State of North Carolina [1891-1939] |
Subject Topical | Medicine -- North Carolina -- Societies, etc. |
Subject Topical Other | Societies, Medical -- North Carolina. |
Description | After 1939 transactions published in the North Carolina Medical Journal |
Creator | Medical Society of the State of North Carolina. Annual Session. |
Publisher | Raleigh, N.C. : Medical Society of the State of North Carolina, 1891-1939. |
Repository | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Health Sciences Library. |
Host | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Date | 1928 |
Identifier | NCHH-16-075-0672 |
Form General | Periodicals |
Page Type | all; article |
Language | English |
Rights | This item is part of the North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection. Some materials in the Collection are protected by U.S. copyright law. This item is presented by the Health Sciences Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for research and educational purposes. It may not be republished or distributed without permission of the Health Sciences Library. |
Filename | transactions751928medi_0672.jp2 |
Digital Collection | North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection |
Sponsor | The North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection is an open access publishing initiative of the Health Sciences Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Financial support for the initiative was provided in part by a multi-year NC ECHO (Exploring Cultural Heritage Online) digitization grant, awarded by the State Library of North Carolina, and funded through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). |
Volume Number | 75 |
Page Number | 636 |
Health Discipline | Medicine |
Full Text | 636 the medical society of the state of north carolina The physician's first responsibility to his patient is the diagnosis of the patient's condition. The health officer should not be content to treat the symptoms of the community. He should make an earnest endeavor to diagnose its ills. Communities have individuality. They differ from each other just as people differ. The causes of infant mortality in one community may be greatly different from those in another community. In community medicine, we should have individual diagnosis just as we expect the practicing physician to make a diagnosis on each of his patients. The case record of a community will disclose that the family history with its consideration of racial tendencies, susceptibility, immunities, etc., is important, as is the past history of epidemics, disasters, etc. In the preliminary physical examination, we should consider the geographical location, the topography, the climate, the population and its makeup, the occupation of the people, housing conditions, recreational facilities, etc. Careful scrutiny should be made of the water supply, the milk supply, the food supply, and the excrement disposal system, for these factors have a distinct bearing on the health of the community. They are fundamentals. While much progress has been made in the water supply, the milk supply, and excrement disposal problems, the food supply problem has been sadly neglected with great frequency. This is particularly true of our meats. Locally slaughtered meats are often disgraceful to the community in which they are marketed. The health officer has a distinct responsibility in this problem. It is a responsibility he should not shirk. The examination should proceed with a careful study of each and every factor which contributes to community health or disease. The temperature, pulse, and respiration chart of our patient is the mortality statistics of our community. Each health officer should make a monthly and yearly compilation of these data. In communities of relatively small population, such as we have in North Carolina, the abridged international classification of causes of death would seem to be more practical and more informative than the complete list. Following the assembly of these data, they should be carefully analyzed. We should have causes of death by ages. Crude rates for organic heart disease, for instance, are misleading. At present we assume that every person is born to die. It is those who die before reaching the age of reasonable expectancy that demand the thoughtful study of the health officer. Infant mortality rates without an analysis of causes and ages are confusing. The degenerative diseases are almost without exception a major problem in every community. The importance of this problem can only be determined by a studjr of the vital statistics. Definite information is necessary for an accurate diagnosis. Morbidity statistics, while less accurate than mortality statistics, are valuable sources of information. In studying sickness and death, we must consider norms and trends in order to detect variations or fluctuations. This may be all painstaking and tedious but it gives the information which we need for intelligent diagnosis. Responsibility for making a diagnosis rests upon the health officer but there is no necessity for his endeavoring to do this unaided and alone. |
Digital Format | JPEG 2000 |
Print / Download PDF Version | http://archives.hsl.unc.edu/nchh/nchh-16/nchh-16-075.pdf |
Document Sort | all; group-d; nchh-16 |
Article Title | The President'S Address Responsibilities Of The Health Officer |
Article Author | John H. Hamilton |
Volume Link | http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/search/collection/nchh/field/identi/searchterm/NCHH-16-075 |
Title Link | http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/search/collection/nchh/field/documa/searchterm/NCHH-16 |
Catalog Record link | http://search.lib.unc.edu/search?R=UNCb2983307 |
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