Healthcare system is the core and the key element of all societies that exist today, as improvement and maintenance of health is the inevitable process to ensure the society’s survival. Without preventing illnesses and curing diseases, societies would disappear because there would no society members able to maintain functioning of this society.
Functionalism is a sociological theory that can be used to explain how society survives and remains stable with help of the healthcare system. According to the functionalist perspective, each part of the society contributes to its stability, and without this system, there would be a threat to the existence of this society (Crossman, 2014). Functionalists state that healthcare system is a societal institution, and it contributes to the society’s functional stability. In addition, all parts of the society are interdependent, and other parts of the society are greatly influenced by the healthcare system. Healthcare system exists to meet the needs of the whole society, and these needs are medical treatment and preventing of possible diseases. Thus, healthcare system functions to organize the shape of the society and ensures its current and future survival.
Today, it is widely expected that healthcare system focuses on management and prevention of chronic diseases, and it is the main factor that influences the health ageing (Howse, 2012). The main contribution of the healthcare services is preventing and treatment of diseases, which will increase life expectancy, and will also lead to the healthy ageing of society members. To ensure the survival and stable functioning of the society, it is a must to ensure that people receive a sufficient treatment and live longer.
Healthcare services have a growing importance nowadays, and the increase quality of healthcare services have influenced the life expectancy and the increased quality of life. Medical care industry has been greatly developed when compared to the same industry forty or fifty years ago. And, according to the functionalist point of view that states about interdependence of all systems that altogether serve to ensure the stability of the society, other factors have also contributed to the development of healthcare system. For example, there have been major improvements in other areas, such as sanitation, shelter, education, clothing, and other spheres, and these improvements have also played an important role in the functioning of the healthcare system. Innovations is other spheres have had an impact on the quality of healthcare services, and ensured a better treatment of patients.
A clear evidence of the interrelation of healthcare system and the functioning of the society is an evidence that shows the difference between the healthcare services in developed and underdeveloped countries. We all know that healthcare systems in poor countries have to be improved a lot, because the way they function today does not ensure the best quality of treatment, and it leads to the shorter life expectancy in underdeveloped countries. On the contrary, it is a fact of common knowledge that citizens of developed counties live longer than people living in poor countries.
Also, healthcare system helps the society to function in the ways, other than providing healthcare services. There are three functions of the society that help the society to function in an efficient way. One of the functions is financing, which is aimed at collecting revenues, and this helps the economic system of the society to function. Also, another function is enabling many other companies from other industries to operate, as these companies supply hospitals and other healthcare services providers with drugs. In its turn, the pharmaceutic industry generates great revenues, and this also provides the necessary funds for the society to survive. The third function is the service delivery, as both public and private institutions provide personal clinical services.
In general, healthcare system ensures that people living in the society are healthy, as healthy people are more likely to survive. Healthcare system is a base of the sports industry, and sports is another area of society’s life that increases life expectancy of people.
Also, the improved level of healthcare services increases the birth rate in the country, and a baby boom in the society leads to the better chances of society’s survival. The more babies are born within a certain period of time, the better the chances of society’s survival are. It means that more people become members of the society, and they create more additional value that has a positive influence on the functioning of the society.
As it has already been mentioned, healthcare system has a tremendous impact on the commerce (Appelguist, 2013). Medical services and healthcare insurance services facilitate commerce, and it provides the ground that is used by many companies on the market to operate and get revenues. It provides jobs for many people, and this becomes a means for the people to buy food, pay for their shelter, etc. Thus, this is another factor that proves the role of the healthcare system in the functioning of the society.
Healthcare services provide the ground to ensure the overall social, physical, and mental health status of the members of the society (healthypeople.gov, n.d.). In most cases, the purpose of the healthcare system is to ensure the prevention of disabilities and diseases, detection of possible illnesses, treatment of negative health conditions, and ensuring the high quality of life.
Basically, healthcare services are aimed at preventing death and trying to postpone the dying moment. The longer members of the society live and function, the more positive effect they bring to the community they live in.
When members of the society are healthy, they have an increased efficiency at work, and better results at work lead to the better functioning of the society. Members have to receive an adequate health treatment, so they feel better and have an increased level of production.This will create an additional value of the society, and it increases the chances of survival.
Thus, when looking at healthcare services from the functionalist perspective, healthcare system is the core element that meets the needs of the society to take care of its members and increase their life expectancy. Healthcare system is interrelated and interdependent with other industries, and altogether they ensure the constant flow of various processes, which serve as the base for the functioning of the society.
My opinion is that healthcare system is the core of any society, as it satisfies the needs of the society in healthy members. A disease can kill the society, so healthcare system plays a very important role in ensuring the survival and effective functioning of the society. Therefore, from a functionalist perspective, healthcare is the key to the society’s functioning.
References
Crossman, A. (2014). Functionalist Theory. About.com. Retrieved 2 May 2016 from http://sociology.about.com/od/Sociological-Theory/a/Functionalist-Theory.htm
HealthyPeople.gov. (n.d.). Access to Health Services. Healthy People. Retrieved 2 May 2016 from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/Access-to-Health-Services
Howse, K. (2012). Healthy Ageing: The Role of Health Care Services. SAGE Journals. Retrieved 2 May 2016 from http://rsh.sagepub.com/content/132/4/171.abstract
Appelguist, B. (2013). The Role of Health Care in a Democratic Capitalist Society. Pepperdine Policy Review. Retrieved 2 May 2016 from http://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/ppr/vol6/iss1/12/
