Can medicalization be good? Situating medicalization within bioethics

Abstract

Medicalization has been a process articulated primarily by social scientists, historians, and cultural critics. Comparatively little is written about the role of bioethics in appraising medicalization as a social process. The authors consider what medicalization means, its definition, functions, and criteria for assessment. A series of brief case sketches illustrate how bioethics can contribute to the analysis and public policy discussion of medicalization.

O impacto da medicalização sobre os direitos humanos dos pacientes

“…Os cuidados em saúde tornaram-se uma das mais importantes commodities nos países ricos, profundamente influenciados pela lógica mercadológica (Sadler, Jotterand, Lee & Inrig, 2009). A indústria farmacêutica promove o surgimento de novas doenças com o objetivo de vender mais drogas, posicionando-se, assim, como um dos principais atores no processo de medicalização (Brennan, Eagle & Rice, 2010).…”

“…De acordo com Zorzanelli, Ortega e Júnior (2014), a demarcação conceitual da medicalização foi construída, inicialmente, no âmbito da Sociologia, notadamente por Freidson, Zola e Illich, bem como Foucault (Sadler, Jotterand, Lee & Inrig, 2009). Neste artigo, não se tem como objetivo realizar uma ampla análise do conceito de medicalização, por tal motivo a concepção de medicalização adotada neste estudo parte das investigações de Conrad (2007).…”

Medicalization of Eating and Feeding

“…However, some scholars suggest that medicalization produces both positive and negative consequences (Purdy, 2001;Parens, 2011). Considering the potential for medicalization to produce mixed consequences, philosophical and bioethical analysis of the process is needed (Sadler et al, 2009). The examples above demonstrate a number of consequences that require ethical consideration.…”

The Over-prescription of Ritalin for Suspected Cases of ADHD

“…This may be in part because it conforms to the Libertarian values of promoting biological intervention for the good of society (Sadler, Jotterand, Lee, & Inrig, 2009). Considering Libertarian values such as free market and minimum government interventions to promote economic growth, the medicalization of ADHD may be favourable as it opens up possibilities for investment in pharmaceuticals that treat the disorder while maintaining minimum government intervention and support from taxpayers.…”