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Premature Adoption and Routinization of Medical Technology: Illustrations from Childbirth Technology
Author(s) -
Butter Irene H.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1993.tb00918.x
Subject(s) - childbirth , health technology , sociology , psychology , political science , pregnancy , law , health care , genetics , biology
The first part of this article discusses four forces underlying the emergence, adoption, and routinization of medical technology: key societal values, policies of the federal government, reimbursement policies, and economic incentives. It also addresses a set of impacts resulting from increased reliance on medical technology. The second part of the paper assesses three examples of childbirth technology: electronic fetal monitor, obstetric ultrasound, and cesarean birth. The tendency toward the premature and excessive use of technology is especially strong in the area of childbirth technology.