Looking toward the end of my term as president of the Medical Society, it feels appropriate that I’m writing this last message in the pages of an issue about global health.
If it’s true that “all politics is local,” then is it also true that “all health is global”?
In an era of globalization, we are only one plane ride away from the next pandemic. That’s a terrifying thought. However, that’s not the whole story.
Today, we can pool worldwide data to better understand disease and to improve treatment. We can learn from other systems about health care delivery that works. We can leverage innovative solutions to the opioid crisis that have been proven successful elsewhere and use that information to save lives at home.
In the past year, specialists in Massachusetts were able to use HIPAA-compliant voice recognition programs to help doctors on the ground in Puerto Rico after the devastating hurricane. Some of our members also traveled to disaster areas to bring empathetic care to survivors — right when and where they needed it most.
But is all health care global? When we’re sitting in the exam room with a scared patient, that’s about as local as it gets.
Our Commonwealth is an interesting mix of local and global. We are a hub of groundbreaking research and medical innovation — but we are also a state of small towns and community physicians. We all have our equally important roles to play in health care. I like to think that that’s part of what makes us great.
For more on epidemics, though, you will have to join us at the Annual Education program, as well as the Shattuck Lecture being given by Mr. Bill Gates. See you there!
— Henry L. Dorkin, MD
