Medicalization of Communication: An Examination of Communication Policies in American Medicine

ABSTRACT Communication skills with patients and healthcare teams has continued to be one of the main topics of discussion within medical education and has intensified over the past few years. Although communication is not a disease to be named, or a specific medical problem, the innovation is continuously reconstructed and redefined regarding how to be utilized for better healthcare. This paper uses policy analysis to argue that interaction between physicians and patients is an essential part of the medical community in communication, and thus it has been medicalized. Examining the medical profession’s policies will demonstrate that the medicalization of communication exists by being an integral part of physician practice and education and is the medical community.