Medicalization is the process of identifying certain human conditions/behaviors as medical conditions/diseases/disorders.
2. Conrad identifies biotechnology, consumers, and managed care as the three engines driving medicalization. He begins by discussing the transitioning role of biotechnology in medicalization from once a facilitator to now a driving force. Specifically, the development of new drugs and technologies have led the way to increase medicalization. Medicalization of conditions like anxiety has allowed pharmaceutical industries to expand their consumer populations and increase the profitability of the products that they develop; most notably, this was seen in the case of Paxil. Furthermore, consumers are also categorized as a
2. Conrad identifies biotechnology, consumers, and managed care as the three engines driving medicalization. He begins by discussing the transitioning role of biotechnology in medicalization from once a facilitator to now a driving force. Specifically, the development of new drugs and technologies have led the way to increase medicalization. Medicalization of conditions like anxiety has allowed pharmaceutical industries to expand their consumer populations and increase the profitability of the products that they develop; most notably, this was seen in the case of Paxil. Furthermore, consumers are also categorized as a