Bringing the planet into the generalist practice: a form of preventive care

摘要

For the patient who presents with a clinical illness at the doctor's office, some questions are an underlying part of every consultation, although the patient rarely asks them explicitly. What caused my problem? What, consequently, can be done about it? What could I have done differently in the past and how can I prevent the problem in the future? Did the environment or society surrounding me provide me with the best chance of avoiding disease? Did my activity or inactivity, components of my nutrition, or air or water contribute to my condition? Implied in all questions is the concern about the role of environmental factors in the pathogenesis of disease. When health maintenance is part of the purpose of the encounter, the principal question posed to the physician, from a patient's perspective, is how to live to maximise one's chances of having a long and healthy life.