Crime, law, and deviance

Medical sociology emerged as a distinct subfield in the early to mid-twentieth century as sociologists brought their research skills to medical settings, studying doctor-patient relationships, the expansion of medicine as a profession, and the organization of medical systems, health care, and health policy. This chapter, among other things, explores how a primary focus on biomedical solution has potential to violate the "first, do no harm" axiom taught to health-care providers early in their medical educations. The growing comparative focus in medical sociology is useful for understanding points of convergence and divergence between national approaches to health-care delivery and the multiplicity of factors shaping a country's system. Along with international comparisons of health-care systems, it is essential to examine the rights of those individuals who remain on the sidelines of health-care policy. Removing barriers to good health for members of marginalized groups necessitates bringing attention to racism and sexism as features of institutions.