1-The Public Health Service originated in 1798 as the Marine Hospital Service. Discuss motivating factors that prompted that development.

2-Why, in the 1960s, were the health-related programs of Medicare, Medicaid, and Neighborhood Health Centers assigned to non-health federal agencies instead of the Public Health Service?

3-Public health efforts and those of private medicine complement each other and together serve the spectrum of health service needs of American society. Why, then, has their relationship been sometimes contentious and have they not consistently worked together proactively to improve the health status of Americans?

4-Contrast the population-based orientation of public health with the individual-centered focus of private health practitioners.

5-Review the twelve principles of the Public Health Code of Ethics. Which 2 or 3 of these principles do you believe would be the most challenging to apply or adhere to by public health professionals in today's social, economic and political environments?

6-History suggests that untoward circumstances such as a new public health threat or epidemic are required to focus resources on organized public health and its infrastructure. Why does public health have so much difficulty maintaining governmental support of its central role in maintaining the health and well-being of the American people?

7-Deaths in the United States that result from preventable causes total approximately 40% of all deaths each year. Deaths result from tobacco use, poor dietary habits and sedentary lifestyles. What additional actions should/could the U.S. health care system use to combat the factors that contribute to preventable deaths or incentivize more healthy living lifestyles among the most at-risk populations?

8-Definitions of the quality of medical care are no longer left to clinicians who decide for themselves what technical performance constitutes "good care." What are the other dimensions of quality care and why are they important? What has changed since the days when it was assumed that "doctors knew best?"

9-Hippocrates, who admonished physicians to "first, do no harm," also stated, "in abundance, there is lack." Interpret the latter in regard to American health care.

10-Quality in medical care may be defined as achieving the greatest benefit at the lowest risk. How well have the priorities of our health care system and the allocation of resources addressed this goal?

11-Describe what is meant by "structure, process, and outcome" in assessing of the quality of medical care. Give some examples of each dimension. How are the three dimensions related?

12-What is the primary method of continuous quality improvement (CQI) in health care, and what is its underlying premise?

13-Contrast the definitions of implicit and explicit criteria in assessing health care quality. How is each type of criterion more or less useful in health care quality assessment?

14-Since an ever-increasing amount of research is funded by commercial companies, what is your opinion on a requirement for authors of scientific studies who receive income from these companies to disclose funding sources in their scientific publications?

15-Should bio-informatics researchers supported by public funds be allowed to patent new gene discoveries or should such advances be part of the public domain? What is your opinion on the July, 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision prohibiting for-profit companies from patenting naturally-occurring genes?