PrintAugust 15, 2009
First, do no harm
A new Rasmussen poll suggests that voters want Congress to follow the maxim, Primum non noceres when addressing the issue of health care.
a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that most voters (54%) say no health care reform passed by Congress this year would be the better option.
Primum non noceres, or first, do no harm, is taught to every first year medical student to remind them they must never forget the possible harm any intervention might cause. .
Since at least 1860, the phrase has been for physicians a hallowed expression of hope, intention, humility, and recognition that human acts with good intentions may have unwanted consequences. A closely related phrase is "Sometimes the cure is worse than the ill."
