title: The fiction of health Services.
abstract: What we know today as Health Services is a fiction, perhaps shaped involuntarily, but with deep health repercussions, more negative than positive. About 24 centuries ago, Asclepius, god of medicine, and Hygeia, goddess of hygiene and health, generated a dichotomy between disease and health that remains with us until today. The confusing substitution of Health Services with Medical Services began toward the end of the XIX century. But it was in 1948 when the so called English National Health Service became a landmark in the world with its model being adopted by many countries with resulting distortion of the true meaning of Health Services. The consequences of this fiction have been ominous. It is necessary to call things by their names and not deceive society. To correct the serious imbalance between Medical Services and Health Services, Hygeia and Asclepius must become a brother and sisterhood.
authors.affiliation: Senior Public Health Specialist (retired), World Bank.
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Echeverry
keywords: Health services; health promotion services; health protection service; medical services; preventive medicine services