The Globalised Health Industry
Sociology: AQA A Level, topic 5.5.3
The Globalised Health Industry
Globalisation poses a number of challenges to functionalist views of healthcare and medical professionalism.
Globalisation
- The workings of the pharmaceutical industry (‘Big Pharma’), with its emphasis on profit and the rise of medical tourism (travelling to other countries to find cheaper healthcare) have raised concerns about the globalised health industry.
Challenges to functionalist views
- The paid volunteers in clinical trials of new drugs are often drawn from the poorest groups in society, including the poorest in developing countries, raising ethical questions around the extent to which informed consent is given.
Trials
- Trials using volunteers from developing countries raises concerns over the ethical and safety standards in these countries.
Profit motives
- Medical tourism transforms some doctors into business people, driven by a self-interest for profit, competing with other who offer similar services.
Commercialisation
- Healthcare is in danger of becoming based on the ability to pay as commercial interests determine whose health is profitable.