1984: Cuba Launches its Family Doctor Program

Cuba launches its Family Doctor Program. This new system is designed to make up for the shortcomings of the “medicine in the community” model (see 1964 and after) which did not create the intended close relationships between physicians and patients and which had failed in the area of preventative care. Under the new system, Cuba aims to put a physician and nurse team on every city block and in the remotest rural communities. The plan calls for the creation of 25,000 such teams by the year 2000, 5,000 of which would be assigned to factories, schools, ships, and homes for the elderly. The teams are charged with providing comprehensive medical attention to everyone in their districts, both healthy and sick. Each district consists of between 120 and 150 families. Special emphasis is placed on prevention and people are encouraged to exercise, eat well, and avoid unhealthy lifestyle habits such as smoking. [Feinsilver, 1993, pp. 35, 40-42] Implementing the system also requires corresponding changes in the country’s medical schools. All medical graduates except surgeons, nonclinical specialists, and future medical school professors are now required to complete a residency in family medicine before completing a second residency in a specialty area. [Feinsilver, 1993, pp. 30] After the Family Doctor Program is implemented, medical costs begin to drop. The reduced costs are attributed to decreased hospitalization and emergency room use, better health monitoring, improved patient fitness, and more effective prevention. [Feinsilver, 1993, pp. 35, 45]