Today's health care system is in need of major reform. It does not work that well; we have an epidemic of chronic illnesses that affects about 50% of the population. The cost of health care is skyrocketing, we spend nearly twice the amount of any industrialized country and are still ranked 37th in the world in overall quality of care by the World Health Organization, and the safety of medicine is shameful; nearly a million people die every year because of medical problems.
The new medicine is Health Medicine. It is based on four principles: integrative care, holistic care, person centered care, and prevention. The history of the Healtlh Medicine Forum and Health Medicine Center are discussed.
