Policy-makers were today urged to consider the long-term solutions to the nation's health problems as part of a major reform of the health service.
Dr Elizabeth Keane, from the Health Service Executive Southern Area, said some of the experts at the fourth Population Health Summer School had raised concerns that the focus of the reform was on providing quick-fix solutions.
Professor Ivan Perry, from the University College Cork, said the focus had moved on from the last century when medical experts concentrated on the effectiveness of treatments.
"There is now increasing focus on health systems research, in particular, on the challenge of delivering effective treatments for chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes in the community, with limited budgets," he said.
"There are increasing concerns that the population health function will not be adequately developed and supported in the ongoing health reform programme.
"This is a vital issue and I hope this conference will highlight the need for an appropriate and realistic balance in our health system between treatment and prevention, between the urgent and the important." Dr Keane said the summer school was discussing the broad issues impacting upon health such as disease prevention.
On the debates taking place in Cork, Dr Keane said: "We will learn of the importance of health protection in the overall reform; for instance ways to manage the flu outbreaks and environmental problems."
Dr Keane said the international experts, which include Prof Martin McKee of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and Prof Allyson Pollock of University College London, would be providing Irish experts with information on the importance of long-term disease prevention.
"What we are trying to do in public health medicine is fix things upstream and look at the future. It is more to prevent people getting sick, that is long term," Dr Keane, who is Director of Public Health with the HSE Southern area, said.