This critical review discusses the deviations from the Flexnerian hegemonic model of medical practice, carried out under the point of view of paleomedicine and relevant evidence from research. If we, on the one hand, have the required and sufficient knowledge on the burden of diseases that afflict mankind and its determinant factors, on the other hand the attention turns to strategies that do not have an effective impact on such diseases, consuming a larger portion of resources directed to healthcare: ischemic cardiovascular diseases, followed by type 2 diabetes mellitus. Their risk factors are well-known and have been shown to be controllable through health promotion actions, which constitute a process technology that is more cost-effective than biotechnology. However, we choose to apply large part of the financial resources on the care of the affected individual to the detriment of health promotion in the general population, who goes without this benefit, which characterizes an injustice in terms of healthcare actions.
Historical article; cardiovascular diseases; biotechnology; cost-benefit analysis