The political nature of medicine

Abstract

Practical guidance for clinical microbiology laboratories: viruses causing acute respiratory tract infections. Clin Microbiol Rev 2019; 32: e00042-18. 3 WHO. Clinical management of severe acute respiratory infection when COVID-19 is suspected. March 13, 2020. https://www.who. int/publications-detail/clinical-managementof-severe-acute-respiratory-infection-whennovel-coronavirus-(ncov)-infection-issuspected (accessed April 4, 2020). 4 Ip DKM, Lau LLH, Chan KH, et al. The dynamic relationship between clinical symptomatology and viral shedding in naturally acquired seasonal and pandemic influenza virus infections.

The philosophical foundations of ‘health for all’ and Universal Health Coverage

“…In Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle argued that we should seek to participate in the political sphere and that politics is the higher form of ethics. This sentiment has been echoed by Ghilardi and colleagues who called for health workers and researchers become more politically and socially engaged as a core element of their work [ 63 ]. Virchow famously asserted that “medicine is a social science” whose practitioners are obligated to work with politicians in order to address the core drivers of ill health [ 64 ].…”

Polarisation, incivility, and scientific debate during covid-19—an essay by Agnes Arnold-Forster

“…are not just an embellishment. They are a baggage of competencies necessary for science.”12 Public health, science communication, sociology, anthropology, even history, can all assist scientists and doctors in their navigation of these sometimes treacherous waters.…”

Social Pharmacology as an Underappreciated Field in Medical Education: A Single Medical School’s Experience

“…The social aspects of medicine and medical education are more than imperative nowadays, given that several societal determinants, such as health care systems, political settings, unemployment, racial inequities, and exposure to chronic stress ( Chrousos, 2009 ; Theoharides, 2020 ), could play a major role in public attitudes towards therapies or even change the course of medical decisions ( Russell et al, 2004 ; McNeill et al, 2017 ; Nuwayhid and Zurayk, 2019 ; Ghilardi et al, 2020 ). It is now equally appreciated that the drug discovery processes ( Kaitin and DiMasi, 2011 ), which may disproportionally focus on some fields (e.g., oncology), should take into account societal factors (e.g., access to medications) ( Milne and Kaitin, 2019 ).…”