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* Abbreviation: AHCA —: American Health Care Act The current Congress and president have brought about uncertainty and unease as to where policies and rhetoric will lead us. Questions abound across a range of perspectives and issues. Many wonder whether our divided country, characterized by demonstrations and marches across a range of perspectives, can come together with any consensus. Health care is 1 issue with a particularly cloudy future. Amid this haze, we, as physicians, must consider our role as stewards of patient and population health. How can we make our voice heard as advocates for our patients as well as for (or against) policies affecting those patients and our profession? For guidance, I looked to words I spoke aloud on my first day of medical school. Many of us begin our careers this way, reciting an oath that serves as a professional and ethical guidepost. Versions of these words have served our profession for generations. How might they now provide us with direction? As I reread the Modern Hippocratic Oath, the one I recited, I gleaned a deeper appreciation for our profession’s finest traditions1 in support of prevention, social justice, and advocacy. I found the oath’s implicit messages to be timely, as though its author had foreseen current shifts in the American political landscape. The phrase, “I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure, ”1 feels undeniably relevant today. Prevention of disease and promotion of health are at the core of the policies being debated, including components of the now at risk Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Many who voice … Address correspondence to Andrew F. Beck, MD, MPH. E-mail: andrew. f. beck1atgmail. com
Andrew F. Beck (Wed,) studied this question.