[Task of a cantonal preventive health officer]

Considerations from a point of view of health-policy as well as from an epidemiological standpoint reach the conclusion that the main tasks of a medical officer in preventive medicine at cantonal (state) level are on the field of primary prevention, in particular health-education. In the new health-law of the canton of St.Gall, early detection of diseases will be delegated to physicians in private practice. At the cantonal level, a health officer will thus have the following tasks: 1. Planning of programmes in primary prevention, mainly in the field of health-education, for state or private authorities. 2. Counseling of state and local authorities in questions of preventive medicine. 3. Support, evaluation an coordination of already existing activities on the field of public health.