Measuring the Effectiveness of Prevention

The old adage, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," is not a reasonable guide to the allocation of resources in the health care field. If it were, and we had preventive measures for all diseases, then health care would consist only of prevention: acute health care would only be a dim memory. Unfortunately, effective preventive techniques are lacking and the adage Is misleading because it lumps into one category-prevention-a host of different kinds of program.