Continued Counseling for the Relationship Between State-Level Medicine and Public Health

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Medical Practice
• Health Policy

Background:

• Public health and organized medicine have historically operated independently.
• The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for closer collaboration between these sectors.
• A 2005 article by Dr. Ronald Davis provided recommendations for improving medicine-public health relationships.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore formal relationships between state-level public health and medical practice in the U.S. at the end of 2019.
• To assess the implementation of recommended strategies for collaboration between public health and organized medicine.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study was conducted.
• Questionnaires were distributed to senior public health officials and medical society executives in every U.S. state (N=104).
• Data were collected between August and December 2019 and analyzed in January 2020.

Main Results:

• 40%-63.1% of respondents engage in recommended collaborative activities.
• State health departments infrequently invite medical society executives to speak at major conferences (26.2%).
• The majority (71.1%-85.9%) believe these activities would improve medical and public health practices.

Conclusions:

• Survey results indicate a desire for reconciliation but poor implementation of collaborative strategies.
• More formal efforts are necessary to build stronger partnerships between state medical and public health organizations.
• The COVID-19 pandemic presents an opportunity to unite these sectors for improved public health outcomes.