Has traditional medicine had its day? The need to redefine academic medicine

The field of medicine has traditionally focused on care for individual patients, with emphasis on disease treatment and less focus on disease deterrence and the socioeconomic and behavioural factors that impact health and wellbeing. Over the years, this model has served patient care well. However, the most pressing issues facing health and health care today—including non-communicable diseases (NCDs), an ageing global population, and complex, systemic barriers to health equity—are not easily solved with an individual patient approach.