Social Aspects of Clinical Medicine

CLINICAL MEDICINE. By Jessie Garrard and Sir Max Rosenheim. (Pp. 174. £1.40). London: Balliere, Tindall & Cassell, 1970. THIS book was written primarily for medical students starting clinical work. It will also be of considerable value to house officers and those entering general practice. It is concerned primarily with the individual patient, his relationships to his family and community and the relevance of these to the diagnosis and management of illness. As the authors write: "The social aspects of clinical practice are becoming increasingly important and whether the young graduate is to becdme a general practitioner or to remain in the hospital service he must inevitably need to recognise social aspects of disease and to understand how he can help his patients by invoking the many social agencies that are now available and anxious to help." "Social Aspects of Clinical Medicine" is short, readable, relevant and full of useful practical information. It starts with a section on the patient's social history dealing with his family, occupation, finance, housing and attitudes. There follow 14 illustrative social case histories which make compelling reading. The third part deals with the training and function of those who work in the community and hospital medical teams and emphasises that the effective practice of medicine today requires the co-ordinated activity of all those working in the now numerous health and welfare professions. This section also contains a short historical survey of the development of the health and welfare services and concludes with a useful short description of those services today. This book provides an interesting introduction to social medicine based on the social aspects of the clinical case. It is also a useful short guide to the medical and social services in England and Wales. It would add to its usefulness if in the next edition the authors would insert a short section on the ways in which the services in Scotland and Northern Ireland differ from those in England and Wales. J.P.