MEDICINE AS SOCIAL INSTITUTION

Abstract

This article conceptualizes medicine as a social institution and examines the functional roles of healthcare within modern society. It situates medical sociology in the broader system of sociological sciences by clarifying its object, subject, and interdisciplinary linkages to economics, politics, psychology, and cultural studies. The paper demonstrates how socio-economic, cultural, environmental, and gender factors shape health and illness, engaging core concepts such as the sick role, medicalization, professional dominance, stigma, and the negotiated order of hospital practice. Using Uzbekistan as a case, the article maps the institutional architecture of healthcare (central, regional, primary, specialized, and private tiers), discusses the evolving mixed financing arrangements, the rollout of mandatory health insurance, digitization, quality standardization, and workforce development. Particular attention is paid to the mahalla institution and national medical culture, highlighting their influence on patient behavior and health-seeking pathways. The argument is made that reducing social inequalities, strengthening public health, and improving health policy performance require balancing social effectiveness with economic returns, prioritizing prevention, and expanding citizen participation. The paper concludes that modernizing medicine as a social institution entails integrating evidence-based practices, reinforcing primary care, and sustaining constructive dialogue with plural medical practices, thereby advancing equitable and effective population health.