Do physicians use defensive medicine?
Do physicians use defensive medicine?
Sociology of health is a sub-branch of sociology that deals with the biological and social aspects of an individual's health. The health is attributed to a normal state. The deviation from the defined normal state is considered the ill health conditions that are believed to be caused by micro-organisms and viruses, pathogens, etc
Sociology of health defines the ill-health condition as the one that is caused by the social factors that surround the individual rather than pathogens or viruses. It is the social problems that surround the individual that are the ones responsible for the ill-health condition. Defensive medicine is the use of ordering medical tests, procedures, and consultations. These are used to protect the physician from malpractice suits. The physicians will use defensive medicine in several contexts. If we take the recent research formulations, seventy percent of the physicians use defensive medicine in the united states. they use it solely to reduce the threat of malpractice liability and to make them free from the law suites. Due to the use of this, the physician may get benefits at the individual level, but several social problems arise at the societal level.
- it increases the cost of health care to the people. Due to this, the weaker sections of society do not get access to quality health care due to increased health care investment.
- it makes the individuals undergo several tests and procedures that will put the life of the people at risk. The use of different medical tests and the medicines that are not required leads to the risk of the people who take treatment from the physicians practicing it.
- it also leads to the decline of the quality of the health care systems in society. Due to this, there emerges mistrust among the people in society towards the society's health care systems.
- due to the use of defensive medicine, there will be an increase in the investment of the people who are into the process. Due to the prolonged practice of this, it leads the people to get into poverty due to the unnecessary expenditure in the health care.
- creates a mistrust of the scientific health care systems. There is also a danger of people going to the cost-effective and less authentic medical treatments, which leads to the health risk of the people in the whole society.
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