Pay Bill What is Preventive Medicine?
Preventive medicine is the specialty area of medical practice that focuses on keeping patients healthy rather than only treating them when they are sick and/or injured. Preventative medicine focuses also on the health of communities as well as the individual. The ultimate goal is to promote and maintain good health and well-being.
Public Health and General Preventive Medicine
Public health and general preventive medicine is probably the broadest field of medicine. This is because its focus is on preventing disease and injury within communities and defined populations. Practitioners in this field of medicine combine their knowledge of population-based public health with primary and secondary clinical practice. These experts are found in clinical settings, hospitals and physician clinics across the country.
Preventive medicine, by definition, addresses the general public, as a result, the types of treatments patients undergo vary greatly. Most noteworthy examples of general preventive medical treatments include:
- vaccinations for various illnesses
- meal plans for those on restricted diets
- allergy testing
- treatments intended to prevent injury and illness
Occupational Medicine
Occupational medicine focuses on the health and performances of workers in various occupational settings. Practitioners in this field study the physical, the chemical and the social environments, to determine how they can affect a worker’s well-being
Occupational medicine effectively finds ways to keep workers safe even in the harshest work environments.
The type of occupational medicine you will need will depend on your occupation and job requirements. Jobs that are particularly hazardous may require a physical examination this will make sure that you are physically able to perform the work required of you. They may require you to be up-to-date on your vaccinations if your job requires you to come into contact with potentially dangerous diseases or people with compromised immune systems. This is especially relevant for those who work in healthcare.
In other cases, this may be as simple as undergoing training to avoid injury on the job.
Education is a major element in preventive medicine, therefore, at Callahan Clinic, one of our goals is to educate our patients on how to better care for themselves and avoid serious health issues. Contact us to learn more about our preventive medicine services.
Contact us to learn more about our preventive medicine services.
In conclusion, you may also want to read Which is really better?
