The Socio-Politics of Technology and Innovation: Problematizing the 'Caring' in Healthcare?

The socialization to consumer culture and market economics has implications for personal identity, our relations with each other and the construction of social service provision such as health care. Such values encourage a desire for the latest technological innovations in clinical practice and institutional administration. For health systems with limited budgets, such beliefs combined with aggressive corporate marketing strategies, the rapidly increasing costs of innovative systems and the disparate goals of both political and administrative personnel, may also lead us to denigrate the importance of front-line staffing and the value of the care they provide to patients. Research has demonstrated the important role that clinical personnel have in increasing levels of satisfaction for patients and improving clinical outcomes. This paper discusses the social-psychological, political and administrative roots of the dilemma facing modern health-care systems and their connection to the advancement of humane medical practices. © 2006 Palgrave Macmillan Ltd All rights reserved.