Medical Sociology - Lecture 2 - Physician-Patient interaction

Second lecture focuses on the situation of Physician-Patient interaction. It starts with the introduction of Talcott Parsons' structural functionalism, where he develops his model of "Sick Role" and "Doctor's role". Criticisms of this model are as important as the model itself, since they advance the research of health as a social phenomena and the impact of social determinants (demographics) on health and illness behavior. Lecture finishes with transition from interaction towards Physician-patient relationship: health model, medical ethics and criteria for good communication.