List and discuss three major social implications of advanced medical technology
What will be an ideal response?
Advances in medical technology are occurring at a speed that is almost unbelievable; however, sociologists have identified specific social implications of some of the new technologies:
1 . Advanced technologies create options for people and for society, but these options alter human relationships. An example is the ability of medical personnel to sustain a life that in earlier times would have ended as the result of disease or an accident. Although this can be beneficial, technologically advanced equipment (that can sustain life after consciousness is lost and there is no likelihood that the person will recover) can create a difficult decision for the family of that person if he or she has not left a living will—a document stating the person's wishes regarding the medical circumstances under which his or her life should be terminated. Federal law requires all hospitals and other medical facilities to honor the terms of a living will.
2 . Advanced technologies increase the cost of medical care. For example, the computerized axial tomography (CAT) scanner—which combines a computer with X-rays that are passed through the body at different angles—produces clear images of the interior of the body that are invaluable in investigating disease. The cost of such a scanner is around $1 million. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment that allows pictures to be taken of internal organs ranges in cost from $1 million to $2.5 million.
3 . Advanced technologies raise provocative questions about the very nature of life. In 1997, Dr. Ian Williams and his associates in Scotland cloned a lamb (that they named Dolly) from the DNA of an adult sheep. Subsequently, scientists have cloned other animals in the same manner, raising a number of profound questions.
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