A CONCEPT of community medicine and an organization of health services and practices that does not separate prevention, cure, containment, and rehabilitation are envisaged by the staff of the Indian Health Service (IHS), Health Services and Mental Health Administration, Public Health Service. Since 1955 the Indian Health Service has been responsible for administering a comprehensive program for individual and community health that benefits approximately 400,000 geographically and culturally isolated American Indians and Alaskan Natives (1). The prime mission of the service is to elevate the health status of these people to the highest possible level through optimum allocation of all available human and physical resources. The service's mission is carried out through health programs encompassing disease intelligence and control, screening, diagnosis, treatment, preventive services, sanitary facilities construction, home care, and education. Today, the Indian Health Service operates 51 hospitals, 55 large health centers, and more than 300 health stations in 23 mainland States and Alaska. It also contracts with 300 community hospitals, 18 State and local health departments, and with more than 400 private practitioners to provide a variety of health services where the service does not have facilities to deliver required special care. The experience of the Indian Health Service has highlighted the fact that, a's beneficiary demands and needs foir health services continue to burgeon and the gap between them and available resources continues to widen, systematic management, training, and research are mandatory to assure the wise use of such resources. IHS's ciomprehensive health programs must compete successfully with other demands for the tax dollar.