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Robert H. Moser, MD

JAMA. 1975;231(13):1371.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

Yesterday, I stumbled once again over that most offensive expression "health care delivery (HCD)." It was sticking out like porcupine quills from a very badly written manuscript. I suspect what disturbs me about HCD is a combination of the semantics and implied philosophy. I honestly don't know what "health care" is—and the only "deliverers" I know (since the iceman no longer cometh) are the milkman, the postman, the obstetrician, or Moses.

We are still mostly engaged in "sickness cure," counterpunching—responding—after the patient becomes ill. We are a long way from maintaining "health"—keeping people well—which gets into the whole gestalt of prophylacticpreventive medicine.

There are some soft-headed savants—scientic planners in high places—who become enraptured with the sibilance of certain words. "Salvation will come through an enlightened program of health care delivery." Well, aside from chlorinating and fluorinating water, taking the appropriate immunization inoculations at the appropriate age and washing one's hands . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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