Preliminary communication
Post-modern type of medical pluralism: alternative medical treatments on contemporary medical market
Živka Staničić
Abstract
An increasing number of alternative medical treatments on the medical market of modern developed countries raises a few questions. Why have alternative medical treatments lately taken up geographical as well as socio-cultural space which has been absolutely dominated by academic or orthodox medicine ever since mid-19th century? Does the constantly increasing number of non-biomedical treatment options on the medical market of developed countries mean the abolition of biomedical hegemony and the establishment of genuine medical pluralism? How much space exactly can different alternative treatments fill, i.e. in view of their increasing popularity and legitimacy, can they become “mainstream” within the formal medical care system of developed western countries?
Trying to answer all these questions, the article looks closely at socio-cultural, political and economic structural changes in post-modern society which create ideal conditions for alternative medical options to flourish. People are obsessed with their health/body, there are new social/health campaigns, new liberal health care patterns, therapeutic inefficiency of biomedicine and an increasing number of iatrogenic diseases generated by its mechanistic and reductionistic approach.
Contrary to the conventional and generally accepted belief about genuine medical pluralism, the article shows plenty of evidence that, in spite of the exponential growth of alternative medicine in post-modern society, biomedical treatments still dominate the contemporary medical market.
Keywords
alternative medicine increase; early medical pluralism; doctors’ professionalism; “new” medical pluralism; medicine based on evidence
Hrčak ID:
17629
URI
Publication date:
22.11.2007.
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