Public Health Service (PHS) includes eight agencies of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. These agencies are the Health Resources and Services Administration; the National Institutes of Health; the Food and Drug Administration; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; the Indian Health Service; the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry; and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. These agencies work with state and local agencies, educational and research institutions, and private industry to conduct health research, control disease, and provide health information, education, and services. The PHS also works with other nations and international agencies toward solving global health problems.
The assistant secretary for health directs the PHS. Other top officials include the surgeon general of the United States, who promotes good public health techniques. The surgeon general leads the PHS Commissioned Corps, a uniformed service consisting of thousands of medical professionals.
The federal government began a health service for merchant sailors in 1798. This agency was formally established in 1870 as the Marine Hospital Service. It became the Public Health Service in 1912.
