What Is Medicine?
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their disease or injury and promoting their health. The term medicine includes a variety of healing interventions, including prescription drugs and surgery, as well as a patient-centered approach to care that encompasses psychosocial aspects. It is considered a regulated profession in many countries.
Medical doctors must undergo extensive education, training and professional development to become licensed or registered as physicians. This is intended to protect patients from charlatans that offer unproven treatments, as well as to encourage physicians to use evidence-based medicine and follow the Hippocratic Oath, which states: “First, do no harm”.
Modern health care relies on teams of highly educated professionals besides medical practitioners. These include nurses, emergency medical technicians and paramedics, laboratory scientists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, respiratory therapists, dietitians, radiographers, physiologists and bioengineers. Medical students and residents spend a significant amount of time learning the specialized vocabulary used in these fields. This vocabulary is often based on Latin and ancient Greek roots and suffixes, and consists of prefixes that indicate location, direction, type or quality, and root words with meanings related to anatomy or disease processes.
The practice of medicine is governed by a code of ethics, which typically includes the principles of beneficence (do no harm), justice and non-maleficence. Doctors who violate these codes may be subject to civil, criminal or professional sanctions.
A record of a person’s health, including information about their family’s history of diseases, illnesses and surgeries. Also called a medical chart or personal health record.
Health coverage provided by an insurance company in exchange for a premium, or by an employer or union as part of a benefits package. Also called a health insurance policy or group plan.
Medications and surgical procedures are important tools in the diagnosis, treatment and cure of many diseases and injuries. Medications are used to treat symptoms and prevent or cure illness, and surgical procedures are carried out to repair damaged tissues or organs and to remove extra tissue, such as for biopsy.
Medical research is an ever-changing field, driven by technology and discoveries in molecular biology, genomics and evolution. These advances are enabling new and better medicines to be developed, and they are changing the way that doctors practise. For example, some of the most recent advances in medical technology have been directed towards developing drugs that are specific to physiological targets and that are designed for compatibility with human metabolism in order to reduce side-effects. These drugs are now being combined with genetic and genomic information to develop personalised medicine for individual patients. These developments are also influencing the way that doctors practise and make decisions. In addition, behavioural sciences such as psychology and sociology are contributing to the understanding of how patients respond to treatment and what factors influence their decisions and behaviours. This is helping to improve patient outcomes and satisfaction, and increase the effectiveness of healthcare delivery overall.
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their disease or injury and promoting their health. The term medicine includes a variety of healing interventions, including prescription drugs and surgery, as well as a patient-centered approach to care that encompasses psychosocial aspects. It is considered a regulated profession in many countries. Medical doctors must undergo extensive education, training and professional development to become licensed or registered as physicians. This is intended to protect patients from charlatans that offer unproven treatments, as well as to encourage physicians to use evidence-based medicine and follow the Hippocratic Oath, which states: “First, do no harm”. Modern health care relies on teams of highly educated professionals besides medical practitioners. These include nurses, emergency medical technicians and paramedics, laboratory scientists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, respiratory therapists, dietitians, radiographers, physiologists and bioengineers. Medical students and residents spend a significant amount of time learning the specialized vocabulary used in these fields. This vocabulary is often based on Latin and ancient Greek roots and suffixes, and consists of prefixes that indicate location, direction, type or quality, and root words with meanings related to anatomy or disease processes. The practice of medicine is governed by a code of ethics, which typically includes the principles of beneficence (do no harm), justice and non-maleficence. Doctors who violate these codes may be subject to civil, criminal or professional sanctions. A record of a person’s health, including information about their family’s history of diseases, illnesses and surgeries. Also called a medical chart or personal health record. Health coverage provided by an insurance company in exchange for a premium, or by an employer or union as part of a benefits package. Also called a health insurance policy or group plan. Medications and surgical procedures are important tools in the diagnosis, treatment and cure of many diseases and injuries. Medications are used to treat symptoms and prevent or cure illness, and surgical procedures are carried out to repair damaged tissues or organs and to remove extra tissue, such as for biopsy. Medical research is an ever-changing field, driven by technology and discoveries in molecular biology, genomics and evolution. These advances are enabling new and better medicines to be developed, and they are changing the way that doctors practise. For example, some of the most recent advances in medical technology have been directed towards developing drugs that are specific to physiological targets and that are designed for compatibility with human metabolism in order to reduce side-effects. These drugs are now being combined with genetic and genomic information to develop personalised medicine for individual patients. These developments are also influencing the way that doctors practise and make decisions. In addition, behavioural sciences such as psychology and sociology are contributing to the understanding of how patients respond to treatment and what factors influence their decisions and behaviours. This is helping to improve patient outcomes and satisfaction, and increase the effectiveness of healthcare delivery overall.