Preventive medicine Physicians

Preventive medicine

A preventive medicine specialist focuses on the health of individuals and defined populations in order to protect, promote and maintain health and well-being, and to prevent disease, disability and premature death. The distinctive components of preventive medicine include:

1. Biostatistics and the application of biostatistical principles and methodology
2. Epidemiology and its application to population-based medicine and research.
3. Health services management and administration including: developing, assessing, and assuring health policies; planning, implementing, directing, budgeting, and evaluating population health and disease management programs; and utilizing legislative and regulatory processes to enhance health;
4. Control of environmental factors that may adversely affect health;
5. Control and prevention of occupational factors that may adversely affect health safety;
6. Clinical preventive medicine activities, including measures to promote health and prevent the occurrence, progression, and disabling effects of disease and injury;
Assessment of social, cultural, and behavioral influences on health.

A preventive medicine physician may be a specialist in general preventive medicine, public health, occupational medicine, or aerospace medicine. This specialist works with large population groups as well as with individual patients to promote health and understand the risks of disease, injury, disability, and death, seeking to modify and eliminate these risks.

Medical Toxicology

A specialist who is expert in the evaluation and management of patients with accidental or intentional poisoning through exposure to prescription and nonprescription medications, drugs of abuse, household or industrial toxins, and environmental toxins. Important areas of medical toxicology include acute pediatric and adult drug ingestion; drug abuse, addiction and withdrawal; chemical poisoning exposure and toxicity; hazardous materials exposure and toxicity; and occupational toxicology.

Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine

A specialist who treats decompression illness and diving accident cases and uses hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat such conditions as carbon monoxide poisoning, gas gangrene, non-healing wounds, tissue damage from radiation and burns, and bone infections. This specialist also serves as consultant to other physicians in all aspects of hyperbaric chamber operations, and assesses risks and applies appropriate standards to prevent disease and disability in divers and other persons working in altered atmospheric conditions.

Reprinted from "Which Medical Specialist For You" Revised, April 2002. The American Board of Medical Specialties. Research & Education Foundation.