RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Defining disease: determining practice
JF Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin
JO Drug Ther Bull
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP 46
OP 48
DO 10.1136/dtb.2001.39646
VO 39
IS 6
YR 2001
UL http://dtb.bmj.com/content/39/6/46.abstract
AB Management of patients traditionally starts with establishing a diagnosis, a process that relies heavily on how diseases are defined. But definitions of disease vary with time and are influenced by, amongst other things, culture, politics, sociology and economics. The ninth annual Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin symposium, 'Defining disease: determining practice', explored the ways disease is defined and how this might affect practice. Here, we summarise the key points raised in the presentations and subsequent discussion.