1. Unit 1
History of Health Care

2. Primitive Times
Common belief was that disease and illness were caused by evil spirits and demons.
As time went on, people began to study the changed to the human body and began to disagree with “evil spirits”
From evil spirits to angry gods….disease was a punishment from the gods
Exploring the body to discover the truth was not easy because most religions did not allow for “dissection” of the body. This is where the practice of animal dissection began

3. Ancient Egyptians: 3000BC-300BC
First people to record health records
Most recorded on stone and created by priests since most people were not “wealthy” enough to be taught to read
Priests acted as doctors

4. Ancient Chinese: 1700BC-220AD
Strong belief in the need to cure the spirit and nourish the body.
Holistic health: treating the entire patient: mind, body and soul
Herbal medicine and acupuncture are still used today.

5. Father of Medicine: 460-377 BC
Best known for creating the “Hippocratic Oath” which began as a swearing to the healing gods to practice medicine following a strict code of ethics
He believed that illness and disease had rational and physical explanations
Stressed the importance of observation, diagnosis, and treatment
First to accurately describe symptoms of pneumonia and epilepsy in children. Treatment was diet, cleanliness, and exercise for natural healing

6. Symbol of Medicine
Asclepius was believed to be the God of healing so the Rod of Asclepius was created
Often confused with the caduceus which is similar but is now widely accepted as the symbol of medicine.

7. Dark Ages Study of medicine stopped
Individuals lived in unsanitary conditions with little or no personal hygiene
Epidemics of small pox, dysentery, typhus, and the plague were common
Prayer was once again thought to cure all

8. Middle Ages Renewed interest in medical practices of Romans and Greeks
First known medical textbooks
First medical universities created in the 9th century
During this a bubonic plague epidemic killed almost 75% of the European and Asian population.
The average life span of years was often reduced by the presence of diseases like typhoid, malaria and tuberculosis
Many infants died at birth

9. Renaissance Rebirth of the science of medicine
Accurate drawings of the body were made by Michelangelo and Da Vinci
Further education for doctors
Life span increased to an average of years but common infections still claimed many lives

10. 16th-19th centuries
Microscope was invented by Anton van Leeuwenhoek allowing doctors to see microorganisms
Physicians began to describe things like circulation of blood (William Harvey) and the tympanic membrane of the ear and the fallopian tubes of a female (Gabriel Fallopius) or Bartolomeo Eustachio identified the tube between the ear and throat.
First pharmacies and pharmacists (Apothecaries)
Average life span increased to years
Rene Laennec invented the stethoscope
First sanitary nursing units started by Florence Nightingale
Average life span increased to years

11. 20th and 21st Century New inventions such as xrays
Medicines such as insulin, antibiotics and vaccines
Structure of DNA described by Francis Crick and James Watson
Major threats to healthcare such a bioterrorism
New viruses such as H1N1 spread due to ease of travel
World Health Organization constantly monitoring health problems to promote good health

12. Trends in Health Care
Cost containment: means trying to control the rising cost of health care and achieving maximum benefit for every dollar spent
Reasons for higher health care costs are advances in technological procedures, aging populations and health related lawsuits
Diagnostic related groups: classified payment groups for certain diagnoses
Outpatient services: patients receive care without being admitted to hospitals
Energy conservation: monitoring the use if energy to control costs and conserve resources
Home health care: doctors and nurses making house calls and delivering care at home

13. Trends in health care cont…
Geriatric care: care for the elderly, experiences rapid growth
Average life spans of 80- years or more
Baby boom generation is now reaching geriatric age
Telemedicine: involves the use of audio, video and computer systems to provide medical health care services
Wellness: state of being in optimum health with a balance between mental, physical and social health
Complementary therapies: methods of treatment that are used in conjunction with conventional medicine
Alternative therapies: methods used in place of biomedical therapies
Integrative health care: combines mainstream and CAM therapies

14. Pandemics
Occur when the outbreak of a disease occurs over a wide geographic area and affects a high proportion of the population
Examples: H1N1 (swine flu), aviary flu, SARS. Monkeypox, Ebola, Marburg