ROUTINE PERIODIC MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS
March 12th, 2009Here I would like to speak out loud and clear: I advocate compulsory periodic medical examinations for everyone.
Already there is the compulsory X-ray examination for tuberculosis. At schools, doctors and dentists give our children regular ‘physicals.’ We accept the fact that our community water and milk supply and the food we eat should be subject to inspection. We take it for granted that our children should be vaccinated against polio. We agree that individuals have a social obligation not to transmit illnesses to others. Nurses and individuals in certain other professions and jobs are examined regularly.
It seems obvious to me that this practice should be extended. Why not include everybody, in these days when we come into close contact with total strangers every day in trains, stores, movies, swimming pools, and so on? In addition to the examinations and tests for communicable diseases, optional examinations for other potential killers and disablers should become a national habit. These would include tests for diabetes, cancer, heart and kidney diseases, and other illnesses, according to the age or condition of the individual being examined. Naturally, I realize that this programme will not be introduced today or even tomorrow. I hope some of you will help to speed its realization.
When people come to accept such examinations and tests as a part of their regular lives, diseases can be prevented or cured without arousing alarm.
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