The commodification of health is upon us today. Many products are being created to aid in the treatment of all manner of ailments, and the health industry is no exception. There are numerous websites, articles and books available to assist in the understanding of the various facets of health. However, at the end of the day we must rely on the professionals who will have the power to rule out or treat disease properly.
It is upon these that the commodification of health occurs.
The modern doctor is as much a part of the medical industry as the pharmaceutical companies. They are the salesmen, the business people and the doctors who get the job done. As such, their first loyalty is to the client, never to the corporation. In the long run, the corporation is more interested in profit than the well being of the patient. While they are conducting business, they are not concerned with the needs of the person who will come into contact with the product, nor do they care about the health of the consumer. This is not an ideal situation.
The commodification of health care must be resisted and not allowed to progress unchecked. Healthcare is one of the greatest blessings to mankind and it deserves the best of care possible. As such, the doctor-patient relationship should never suffer due to greed or nepotism. The medical establishment is much too important to be hijacked by selfish interests. We can make the doctor-patient relationship better and we can make ourselves much healthier in the process.
The commodification of health care extends far beyond the marketing of products to promote wellness and self-improvement. As more of our personal information is made available on the internet, we are at the mercy of advertising giants to sell us things that we would never want to buy, and things that could greatly improve our lives. When the commodification of health care occurs, a great deal of information that could help improve our lives is lost, and this holds dangers for the consumer.
Even as the commodification of health care seeks to offer a “slim” body to fit into clothing and an unblemished face to present to friends, the very opposite is true. While it is true that some health conditions can be improved by a change in diet and exercise, there is no such thing as a “cure.” To market a solution to a complex problem through the promise of immediate relief is irresponsible. The idea that something can be cured by ingesting some product is also wrong. The commodification of health care will continue until the general public is able to distinguish between what is real and what is not.
As the commodification of health care increases, so does the egos of those who profit from the selling of health solutions. Those who stand to profit from the commodification of health care will continue to claim that they have the answers to improve our health through the promise of quick fixes. Those who do the same will keep pushing the envelope until society is left asking, what has happened to the beauty of health? The answer, unfortunately, is all of it. While the commodification of health care may offer some short-term solutions to our complex health problems, the damage that it will cause to our future will prove to be irreparable.
