Health Not Health Care

A "Perspective" piece posted online at the New England Journal of Medicine reminds us that while it is important to provide access to health care for all Americans, there is a big difference between promoting health care and promoting health. As the authors observe, "the evidence does suggest that health care as conventionally delivered explains only a small amount — perhaps 10% — of premature deaths as compared with other factors, including social context, environmental influences, and personal behavior."

The authors suggest that health care providers can change what they offer to do a better job of promoting health, but the more important message may be that the "medical-industrial complex" has too much control over health policy in the United States.

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