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Medicalization And Ethical Dilemmas

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Consumers of healthcare expect healthcare providers to give extraordinary services with limited resources or “doing more with less”. This is primarily so due to the evolution of medical professionals since the 1970’s. Butts & Rice discuss the term medicalization, which is the attitude and motivation in medical professional-to-patient relationship “emphasizing cure over care” (Butts & Rice, 2012, p. 283). Currently, they identify medical professionals as ‘gatekeepers’ with a more subordinate role driven by “1) managed care, 2) biotechnology, and 3) consumers” (Butts & Rice, 2012, p. 283). So, when deciding who to give a limited resource, such as an organ, ethical dilemmas arise.

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