Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 19

Sociology - Essay Example On the other hand, there is the individual autonomy. The individual professional autonomy of the physician is not only limited to his/her ability in making clinical decisions and in securing the necessary medical services for patients but it also encompasses the autonomy in pertinent to control over one’s own work, which may include the structure and schedule of the work (Stoddard et al, 2001). In line with this, allied health professions have challenged medicine’s professional autonomy. Currently, physicians’ economic stature is challenged from two sides. One is the increasing income gap between the specialists and the general practitioners and the other is coming from the National Health Services, which now requires doctors to produce job plans for the working week, the presence of preauthorization requirements, reducing their freedom to refer and their employment contract being held by Health Authorities (Harrison & Ahmad, 2000). In the same regard, the politi cal standing of medicine’s professional autonomy has been opposed by the inceptions of governmental guidelines, bodies and policies that allow stronger governmental regulations. This is perceptible in terms of clinical audits, and the creation of governmental bodies like the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), National Services Frameworks (NSF) and Commission for Health Improvement (CHI), which provide the guidelines and frameworks that, limits medicine’s professional autonomy (Harrison & Ahmad, 2000). Finally, the clinical autonomy of the physician is challenged by the following concept of patient at the centre of care, of the practise of team management of care, which works on the supposition that health care providers are all equally important in rendering health care services, and that clinical decisions ought to be substantiated and justified by external research findings (Harrison & Ahmad, 2000) These