Department of Adolescent Health, American Medical Association, Chicago, IL, USA.
The 1990s have witnessed a resurgence in clinical preventive medicine. With a finite amount of health care dollars available, prevention is an attractive alternative to rationing health services or to other means of controlling medical expenditures. Strategies to promote preventive services include the development of clinical practice guidelines that describe recommended screening and counseling services, the development of new and improved immunizations, and campaigns to enhance the delivery of both selected, categorical preventive interventions and comprehensive preventive services.