[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/IonaHeath.jpg” caption=”Iona Heath”]Iona Heath, a well-known commentator on the role of the pharmaceutical industry in medicine and society, will talk about the promotion of disease and the corrosion of medicine at the seventh annual Carl Moore Lecture in Primary Care, on Wednesday, April 6, 2005 at McMaster University.

The English physician has published widely on health care policy, medical ethics, and medical humanities. She has explored interactions between health care and philosophy, science, literature, politics, and art, and will share her experiences and perspectives on the politics of health care and disease.

Heath's lecture will provide an opportunity to redefine the understanding and perception of disease and medicine, as well as a chance for dialogue and exchange of ideas, as health care and medicine continue to be priority concerns for Canadians.

“In this paper, my intention is to explore the ways in which three
intertwined and mutually reinforcing trends – the medicalisation of
life, the industrialisation of health care and the politicisation of
medicine – are actively promoting disease, and the fear of disease,
while at the same time corroding the theory and practice of medicine,” she says. “I wish to argue that the discipline of general practice is well positioned to resist these trends and secure a better future.”

In England, Heath is a nationally elected member of the Council of the Royal College of General Practitioners, a representative of the Royal College of General Practitioners on the Inter-Collegiate Ethics Forum, chair of the British Medical Journal's Ethics Committee, and a member of the Human Genetics Commission. She has been a principal in general practice in England since 1977.

The lectureship honours Dr. Carl Moore who was chair of the Department of Family Medicine from 1975 to 1985 and a leader in innovation in primary care throughout his career.

The lecture takes place at McMaster University, in Building T28, next to the tennis courts. Admission and parking are free of charge. Inform the parking attendant at the Sterling Street entrance that you are attending the Carl Moore Lecture.