Medicine is not a precise science. There are always several options to manage and cure a disease. The best help for the treating doctor comes from the patient. The better informed the patient is, the more helpful this is to the physician.
The patient should be conscious of the paradoxes his physician has to face treating each individual case. A successful patient/physician partnership is essential for the successful treatment and cure of the disease.
The essential rules of the medical ethics remain constant since the beginning of history… first do no harm (Hippocrates).
Medicine advances every day; millions of people remain unaware of such changes. In an effort to inform of such changes properly, especially those connected with preventive medicine, is a key factor in the global impact of medicine.
Many diseases, like leprosy, are still largely feared on an exaggerated basis; it is important that the general public is properly informed. Leprosy is a curable disease that no longer requires isolation (leprosaria); it is not contagious whilst being treated.
It is essential that the general public understands the basis of medicine, and books dedicated to this purpose should be read by young students as a part of their humanistic education.
