The limitationes of Internai Medicine in the begining of the new century

Abstract

Internal Medicine has developed greatly in Europe along its 100 years of history, a development which has occurred in parallel with huge developments in the field of scientific medicine. The huge expansion of  Internal Medicin has brought new ideas, and

ln the last century, Internal Medicine clinical practice has evolved greatly. This paper aims to summarise some of the major changes occurred at European levei. However their process has not been homogeneous in all European countries, since the current Internal Medicine practice varies from one country to the next. There are few studies which analyse these differences. On the basis of several meetings promoted by the European Federation of Internal Medicine, the authors have inquired into the dissimilarities and tried to explain them. The paper also deals with the different Internal Medicine training programmes and the structural differences existing between the national health systems all over Europe.

The last section of this paper outlines the best aspects of the Internal Medicine departments across Europe.

Europe is a socio-political reality that is built upon the characteristics of its member countries, some of which require homogenisation. The paper tries to bring some light on the similarities and dissimilarities existing between European countries as far as Internal Medicine is concerned.