The future of communicable disease control: toward a new concept in public health law.

The exercise of compulsory public health powers for the common good of the community, though rooted in constitutional authority, involves a potentially massive infringement of individual liberty, autonomy, and privacy. Yet, public health statutes do not reflect modern conceptions in either science or law. Most are structurally obsolete and lack criteria for judicial oversight and impartial decision making. Guidelines for a model statute are proposed to protect both communal and personal interests.