In Search of Hippocrates
profound and ahead of his time. His
teachings are well documented in the
Hippocratic Corpus. The more than
70 texts found in this work are amazing. Here are a few of them that may
serve as a foundation for what is truly
important in healthcare.
“First Do No Harm”
(Primum non nocerum)
The Hippocratic Oath is the very statement new physicians take when they
are given their medical degree. The
oath was designed to ensure that new
physicians were serious about their
profession through their professionalism and moral standards. Hippocrates
believed that doctors should be held
to a higher standard, both ethically
and professionally. They were encour aged to use their medical knowledge
only to save a life and were expected
to use their expertise to limit unnecessary procedures and treatments. They
were encouraged to treat a patient as a
whole, taking into account all aspects
of his life. Clearly in today’s medical environment focus has moved to
procedures, medications and testing.
Many of these medical modalities are
associated with risks and complications and are adding to the nation’s
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growing health care tab. The tests and
procedures can be harmful as well.
Medical errors are the third leading
cause of death in this country. It is up
to physicians to be ethical in their recommendations and not be influenced
by monetary rewards. They must educate patients that more medicine is
not necessarily better medicine. A
United States group working with 25
medical specialties has released its recommendations in the Choosing Wisely
Campaign. This campaign, launched in
2012, is aimed at helping doctors and
patients navigate through more than
130 tests and procedures.
“As to diseases, make a
habit of two things—to help
or at least to do no harm.”
“I will neither give a deadly
drug to anybody who asks
for it nor will I make a
suggestion to this effect…”
Hippocrates believed that doctors
should not be content to simply
focus on the treatment of disease. He
believed they should treat the patient
as a whole and concentrate on causes
and prevention of disease. He rarely