Public health and public medical care.

This paper deals briefly with the historical development of the major movements and organizations dedicated to the preservation of the health and security of the American people. Statements of various national organizations on the need for integration of these various services for the protection of the indigent are presented, and the experience of one county department in San Mateo which operates a completely integrated department of public health and welfare is reviewed, giving the pros and cons of the operation of a number of disciplines through a single administration. The major advantage of an integrated department of this kind is that all the services having to do with human needs-the needs arising from emotional distress, economic reverses or illness-are combined under the direction of a physician. It is probable that failure of the health discipline to provide such services was a factor in the presentation of the Wagner Act in 1938 and the Wagner-Murray-Dingell Bill in 1943. Continued close cooperation between the various disciplines devoted to the protection of the health and welfare of American citizens can help in solving some of the current problems.