Medicine is sexy. CAR-T cells, stem cell transplants, monoclonal antibodies, CRISPR gene therapy, you name it – there always seems to be a cutting-edge therapy being developed and thousands of patients ready to sign up for clinical trials.

Preventative public health is less sexy. Educating children about nutrition, advocating for transparent food labeling, and implementing alcohol regulations might seem mundane. Yet, these interventions yield results that far surpass even the most advanced medical treatments.

Consider some examples and their ripple effects:

1. Early detection through cancer screening tools dramatically increases survival rates.

2. Limiting fast food accessibility tackles obesity—a major risk factor for numerous non-communicable diseases.

3. Creating public spaces for exercise enhances both physical and mental well-being, reducing overall patient influx.

One of the stories we are taught in medical school is the Upstream Parable. It illustrates the futility of treating a disease when it appears rather than addressing the root cause. This concept is captured in Sir Michael Marmot’s book The Health Gap:

“Why treat people and send them back to the conditions that made them sick?

Indeed, this question strikes at the heart of modern healthcare. While we marvel at medical breakthroughs, perhaps our greatest advancements lie in preventing illness altogether: in looking upstream at the cliffs, rather than the raging waters below.