Founding of Major Health Organizations | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

Founding of Major Health Organizations

Overview

Three major heath initiatives were founded in 1948—the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, and the World Health Organization (WHO). Each of these organizations has a background with different missions, and each would develop in completely different directions. While the National Health Service administers health care for all citizens in the United Kingdom, NIH provides for research into major areas of medicine and health, and WHO seeks not only the elimination of worldwide disease, but the well-being of all nations.

Background

The history of the medical profession up to the end of the nineteenth century was a jumble of patient-doctor relationships. Doctors were self-employed with little support, back-up, or help. They may have met briefly at a college or social gathering, but basically it was each unto himself. A major change occurred in 1883. Chancellor Bismarck of Germany set up state-run medical insurance, and politicians immediately seized upon the issue as a service appealing to an entire electorate.

Before 1900, organized medical practice was just beginning. Individual doctors and hospitals operated without much direction and with little government intervention. But as medicine became more complex and new developments, techniques, and technologies grew, it became evident that governing policies and initiatives were necessary.

Founding of Major Health Organizations article

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