TIBBİ GÖRÜNTÜLEME CİHAZLARI VE HEKİMLERİN MESLEKİ BAĞIMSIZLIĞI: ÇELİŞKİLİ BİR İLİŞKİ

Abstract

This study examines the impact of medical imaging devices on physician autonomy in Turkey. While the opportunities provided by these devices have helped strengthen physician authority and autonomy, they have also led to skyrocketing healthcare costs. Since 1970’s, in order to control the costs, changes have been implemented in the provision and financing of the healthcare, which also aimed to control and audit physician activity, including use of technology. The impact of these changes on professional autonomy have a significant place in the medical sociology and sociology of professions literature. Drawing from this framework and interviews conducted with medical specialists in Ankara, this study examines the physician autonomy with regards to their use of medical imaging devices and how these devices affect their daily medical practices. The study argues that this requires not only addressing the nature and pace of technologies but also physicians’ relationships with other actors in healthcare and the structural characteristics of the health system.