Biomedical research and illness: 1900-1979

At a time when expenditures for biomedical research and for medical care are higher than ever before, some critics doubt the wisdom of allowing them to continue to rise. These critics question the contribution that medicine and research have made to health progress in the twentieth century. Such arguments, however, fail to distinguish between research and technology development or the delivery of service. Efforts to control biomedical research as a way of holding down health care costs would be misdirected and counterproductive to health and economy.