1. EVOLUTION OF THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
FROM PAST TO PRESENT

2. PREHISTORIC TIMES (8000 BC – 3000 BC)
Main focus: predators
Disease did not spread quickly
Medicine rooted in religious or spiritual beliefs
Herbs and plants used as medicines
Digitalis, Quinine, Belladonna, Atropine, Morphine

3. ANCIENT TIMES (3000 BC – 500 AD)
Belief that disease and illness caused by demons and evil spirits
Treatment was directed toward eliminating the evil spirit
As civilization developed, changes occurred; people began studying the body and how it functioned
Religion played an important role; illness was a punishment from the gods, and ceremonies were performed to eliminate evil spirits and restore health

4. ANCIENT EGYPT Egyptian medicine considered highly advanced
First people to keep written health records
Documented ideas such a washing and shaving a body before surgery
Used medicines to heal disease and learned the art of splinting fractures

5. ANCIENT CHINESE
Had a strong belief in the need to cure the spirit and nourish the entire body
Holistic medicine- stress treating the entire patient, mind, body, soul

6. ANCIENT GREEKS Hippocrates- The Father of Medicine
Developed standard of ethics still used today— Hippocratic Oath
Records created by him and other physicians helped to establish that disease is caused by natural causes, not supernatural spirits and demons
First to stress a good diet and cleanliness to prevent disease

7. ANCIENT ROMANS
Realized that some disease was connected to filth, contaminated water, and poor sanitation
Began the development of sanitary systems
Built sewers to carry away waste and aqueducts to deliver clean water
Drained swamps and marshes to reduce malaria
Established the first hospital for injured soldiers

8. DARK AGES (MEDIEVAL TIMES 500 AD – 800 AD)
After the fall of the Roman Empire the study of medicine stopped
Individuals lived with little or no personal hygiene
Epidemics of smallpox, typhus, plague were rampant
Monks and priests stressed prayer to treat illness and disease

9. MIDDLE AGES (MEDIEVAL TIMES 800 AD – 1300 AD)
Brought a renewed interest in medical practices of the Romans and Greeks
Monks obtained and translated the writings of the Greek and Roman physicians
Outbreaks of smallpox, diphtheria, syphilis, tuberculosis
Average life span of years
Many of these diseases are nonexistent today due to vaccines and medications

10. RENAISSANCE ( 1300 AD – 1600 AD) Medical universities were created
Often called the Rebirth of the Science of Medicine
Major source of new information about the human body was a result of accepting and allowing human dissections
Artists such as Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci were able to draw the body accurately
Doctors could now view the body organs and see the connections between different systems in the body
In the 1300’s(14th century) a major epidemic
of bubonic plague killed almost 75%
of Europe and Asia
Life span increased to years

11. 16TH, 17TH 18TH CENTURIES (Modern Times )
Physicians gained an increased knowledge of human body
Improvements in surgical procedures
Discovery of blood circulation
Microscope, mercury thermometer, stethoscope, bifocals were invented
Drugstores started
Vaccine to prevent smallpox
Average life span increased to years

12. 19TH CENTURY Period known as the Industrial Revolution
Major progress in medical science due to the development of machines and access to books
Discovery of microorganisms that caused disease and development of a process to kill bacteria found in milk
Formal training for nurses began by Florence Nightingale (founder of modern nursing)
Development of American and International Red Cross
antiseptics and asepsis to prevent infection during surgery
Discovery of x-rays
Use of anesthesia
Rabies vaccine-1885
Average life span increased to 40-65years

13. 20TH CENTURY Showed the most rapid growth in health care
New machines such as Xrays to view the body
Medicines and antibiotics
Watson and Crick described the structure of DNA and how it carried genetic information
Health care plans were created to help pay the cost of care
Standards were created so all had equal access to quality health care
Average life span increased to years

14. 20TH CENTURY Discovery of penicillin and benefits
Discovery of psychology
More vaccines
Possibility of eliminating disabling disease through genetic research
Ability to transplant organs
Ability to reattach severed body parts
Use of computers to aid in diagnosis, accurate record keeping and research
Use of noninvasive techniques for diagnosis
Advancement in caring for unborn fetus

15. 21ST CENTURY Potential for major advances is unlimited
Completion of Human Genome Project
Embryonic stem cell research
Cloning
Bioterrorism
Pandemics