ABSTRACT
In many respects the health care system is a cottage industry composed of 280,000 private practitioners, 6000 hospitals, and many auxiliary services operating on a cost-plus basis, and it is an economic system which does not operate in a supply and demand loop. The patient must learn to serve as a provider to reduce the drain on needed resources and to avert the system towards home care. The community itself must be informed in order to make health care decisions in terms of facilities and dollars which affect all of its citizens. The health care delivery system in Jacksonville, Fla. found that changing clinic hours from day to night markedly improved consumer participation. The consumer knows little about the delivery system. In many respects the professional is also a consumer from the educational viewpoint. Medically trained extension workers located in the community would provide educational advice on sanitation, immunization, screening for diseases, and epidemiology.
