Biomedical model

The biomedical model of medicine has been around since the mid-nineteenth century as the predominant model used by physicians in diagnosing diseases. It has four core elements.

According to the biomedical model, health constitutes the freedom from disease, pain, or defect, thus making the normal human condition "healthy". The model's focus on the physical processes, such as the pathology, the biochemistry and the physiology of a disease, does not take into account the role of social factors or individual subjectivity. Unlike the biopsychosocial model, the biomedical model does not consider diagnosis (that will affect treatment of the patient) to be the result of a negotiation between doctor and patient.^[1]

The biomedical model of health focuses on purely biological factors, and excludes psychological, environmental, and social influences. It is considered to be the leading modern way for health care professionals to diagnose and treat a condition in most Western countries

See also

• Biopsychosocial model
• Medical model
• Medical model of disability
• Trauma model

References

1. ↑ Annandale, The Sociology of Health and Medicine: A Critical Introduction, Polity Press, 1998