Janlori Goldman ¹, Sydney Kinnear ², Jeannie Chung ³, David J. Rothman ^2*

¹ Department of Socio Medical Sciences, the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
² Center on Medicine as a Profession, Columbia University
³ First-year law student, Brooklyn Law School

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: djr5{at}columbia.edu.

	Abstract

Two recent New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene initiatives expanded the mission and scope of public health, with implications for both New York and the nation.

The programs target diabetes and HIV/AIDS for greater systemic and expanded reporting, surveillance, and intervention. These initiatives do not balance heightened surveillance and intervention with the provision of meaningful safeguards or resources for prevention and treatment. The programs intrude on the doctor–patient relationship and may alienate the very patients and health professionals they aim to serve.

Better models are available to achieve their intended goals. These initiatives should be reconsidered so that such an expansion of public health authority in New York City does not become part of a national trend.

Key Words: Diabetes, Health Policy, HIV/AIDS, Public Health Practice

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