Consequences of Biomedical Model

Consequences of biomedical model 1
CONSEQUENCES OF BIOMEDICAL MODEL
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Consequences of biomedical model 2
The biomedical model is one of the most commonly used models by physicians when it
comes to understanding health and illnesses. It has governed majority of health practitioners in
Australia over the past century. According to Dixon et al. (2016), all illnesses can only be
explained biologically and strictly by biological processes and that other factors outside this
realm are irrelevant and cannot contribute to the illness in question. Health in this model is
viewed as the absence of a disease as opposed to the state well-being of an individual in both
body and mind as described by psychologists. The biomedical model can be quite
disadvantageous and limiting in decision making of a practitioner as it does not consider
psychological, environmental and social determinants of health (Lebowitz & Appelbaum 2018).
It is only limited to biological factors which may be influenced by these other factors. The
biomedical model focusses mainly on biophysical and genetic malfunctions of the body to
define health and illnesses. In this model for example the body processes are independent of
external factors such as the environment. Good health is considered to be the absence of
disease and pain. The diagnosis for a patient with an illness is therefore arrived at by analyzing
laboratory tests rather than seeking the individuals feeling and history of the patient which
includes social and family history. The aim of this discussion is to explain the consequences of
the biomedical model in understanding health and illness.
Many theories have been explained by psychologists concerning understanding health
and illnesses. One of these theories, the functionalism theory explains the interconnection of
various factors that determine health and well-being. It was explained by Emile Durkheim
where he envisioned the society as similar to the human body. In his theory, he explains that as
every vital organ in the body has a role to play in the maintenance of proper body well-being

Consequences of biomedical model 3
and they are dependent of each other, so is all components of a society. He gave examples such
as the body cannot function if the heart stops as blood won’t be pumped to the rest of the vital
body organs such as the brain and lungs. He related this to the society by describing that the
society cannot function well without smaller institutions like family and education.
As echoed by Janitza et al. (2016) the theory explains that all the components of a
society are interdependent. In the functionalism theory, mental states are identified by what
they do rather than what constitutes them. In the same theory, psychologist Parson explains
that ill health is a threat to the proper functioning of the society. He explains for a person to be
considered ill he must exhibit the characteristics of a sick role. In this theory, he explains that a
person is not to be held accountable for poor health and should be excluded from his/her roles
in the society once deemed sick. He later explains that the patient must comply with what the
physician advises so as to regain good health. The functionalism theory similar to the
biomedical model ignores the fact that social background of a person may affect their health as
well as care.
There are many consequences of the biomedical model in understanding health. Since it
focuses mainly on the biophysical condition of a patient to make diagnosis, there is no room to
identify previous and hereditary linked conditions as the social and family history is not taken
into consideration. As explained by Gonzalez et al., (2016) genetic malfunctions are therefore
only detected by thorough laboratory research as opposed to obtaining history from the
patient. This is quite tedious and takes time for the diagnosis to be arrived at. The biomedical
research and testing to process a diagnosis is also quite expensive as there is need for the
appropriate equipment and facilities. For example, to detect a genetic malfunction, high tech