醫學在大學聯考時被歸屬在第三類組，所修習的也都是自然科學典範下知識。然而，醫療的對象是人，加上疾病的複雜性與風險的不確定性，使醫療逐漸成為強調醫病互動的一門藝術，並成為社會科學關注的領域。Parsons將醫師與病人作為一種社會體系，以生病角色的概念，分析醫療的社會功能，在1950年代晚期將醫療社會學帶進社會學理論之中，美國社會學學會也於1962年成立醫療社會學部門，Journal of Health and Social Behavior成為ASA的正式刊物。
醫療社會學是一門應用性高而且在地性很強的學科，牽涉到個人、專業人員、醫療組織、社會文化、國家體制等面向，各種醫療現象與組織發展有其歷史脈絡與文化背景，不分階級貴賤都脫離不了生老病死的問題，無論從醫學或是從社會學出發，皆透露著強烈的現實關懷。Strauss(1957)指出醫療社會學有兩個研究方向，一個是醫學的社會學(sociology of medicine)，是以醫療為經驗研究的對象，目的是驗證或發展社會理論，關懷的是社會學的問題；另一個是醫學中的社會學(sociology in medicine)，則是利用社會學的觀點和研究方法來探討醫療現象，關切的是諸如疾病的就醫行為、醫囑遵循度等，以增進醫療服務的應用取向為主。
70年代以後，社會學對於專業主導的醫療體制提出許多批判，生物醫學知識如何建構疾病和健康的概念，直接挑戰了專門化知識主導的醫療權威。基於對醫療專業與生物醫學模式的批判，醫病之間互動的關係，也不同於Parsons所描繪客觀中立的醫師，將科學知識傳遞給被動無知的病人的模式。醫師與病人之間的關係，其實是帶有衝突性質的動態協商過程，雙方都力圖傳達彼此對情境的定義。因此，許多社會學研究採取病患的觀點，強調病患本身的就醫經驗，從知識與權力的角度，剖析醫病之間的行動。現在，醫界面臨了全球性經濟衰退，人口老化與新興科技帶來醫療費用高漲的財務困境，加上消費者意識抬頭，使醫病關係緊張甚至出現對醫療專業的信任危機，開始了以病人為中心的轉向，非醫療相關的社會因素越來越受到重視。Strauss對醫療社會學的區分已經沒有意義，身為社會學者無法再將醫療單純視為一個用來解釋社會現象的案例，而是要有能力解讀生物醫學資訊，了解醫療體系運作的邏輯，才有資格挑戰醫療專業權威，深入醫病互動過程的核心。
然而，對社會系學生而言，醫學猶如一座難以攻破的白色巨塔，不僅醫學文獻生澀如外星語言，複雜的醫院組織內有各種職系的專業人員，陀螺似地每天轉來轉去。即便你找到門路克服藩籬進入醫院進行田野工作，若是不了解醫療運作的模式，便很難與這群專業人員進行互動。正因為如此，許多社會學家只能透過問卷或次級資料庫研究，不容易進行深刻的生命經驗探索與直接的行動觀察分析。
本課程分為健康與醫療兩大部分，醫療的目的在維護生命與健康，但社會所產生的各種力量，往往比個人自身的決定與醫療行為更能影響我們的健康。首先要簡介健康在幾個主要面向的社會因素，包括階級、性別、種族等，以及人口結構如家庭、生活型態、老化等因素對健康的影響。其次是探討健康與疾病的關係，從生病經驗與病人角色出發，討論社會學是如何理解健康、如何定義疾病，並將醫療化與生活風格醫療放入課程，思考醫療在現代社會中對個人生命治理的影響。最後我將以多年臨床醫師的角度，分享從醫師的觀點是如何處理醫病之間的互動，並以組織社會學的理論分析現代醫院組織的運作，希望有助於對醫療議題有興趣的同學在進行醫院的田野時，能夠較為熟悉與去除陌生的恐懼感。除了健康、疾病、醫病關係、醫院組織幾大議題，最後會將焦點放在政府政策，特別是全民健保以及未來可能的長期照護政策，對提供照護的組織，以及照護者或受照護者的行動與經驗將產生的影響。

Medicine was classified in the third category during the college entrance examination, and all the subjects studied were knowledge based on the natural science paradigm. However, the object of medical treatment is people. Coupled with the complexity of diseases and the uncertainty of risks, medical treatment has gradually become an art that emphasizes the interaction between doctors and patients, and has become an area of ​​concern in social sciences. Parsons regarded doctors and patients as a social system and analyzed the social function of medical care through the concept of the sick role. In the late 1950s, he brought medical sociology into sociological theory. The American Sociological Association also established a medical sociology department in 1962, and the Journal of Health and Social Behavior became the official publication of the ASA.
Medical sociology is a highly applicable and local subject, involving individuals, professionals, medical organizations, social culture, national systems and other aspects. Various medical phenomena and organizational development have their own historical context and cultural background. Regardless of class, no matter whether they are high or low, they are inseparable from the issues of life, old age, illness and death. Regardless of starting from medicine or sociology, they all reveal strong realistic concerns. Strauss (1957) pointed out that medical sociology has two research directions. One is the sociology of medicine, which takes medical care as the object of empirical research. The purpose is to verify or develop social theories and is concerned with sociological issues; the other is the sociology in medicine. Medicine) uses sociological perspectives and research methods to explore medical phenomena, focusing on medical treatment behaviors such as diseases and compliance with medical instructions, with a focus on improving the application orientation of medical services.
After the 1970s, sociology made many criticisms of the professional-dominated medical system. How biomedical knowledge constructs the concepts of disease and health directly challenges the medical authority dominated by specialized knowledge. Based on the criticism of the medical profession and the biomedical model, the interactive relationship between doctors and patients is also different from the model described by Parsons in which objective and neutral doctors transfer scientific knowledge to passive and ignorant patients. The relationship between doctor and patient is actually a dynamic negotiation process with a conflictual nature, with both parties trying to convey each other's definition of the situation. Therefore, many sociological studies adopt the patient's perspective, emphasize the patient's own medical experience, and analyze the actions between doctors and patients from the perspective of knowledge and power. Now, the medical community is facing a global economic recession, financial difficulties caused by rising medical costs caused by an aging population and emerging technologies. Coupled with the rise in consumer awareness, the relationship between doctors and patients has become tense and even a crisis of trust in the medical profession has begun. It has begun a patient-centered shift, and non-medical related social factors are receiving more and more attention. Strauss's distinction between medical sociology is no longer meaningful. As a sociologist, we can no longer regard medical care simply as a case used to explain social phenomena. Instead, we must have the ability to interpret biomedical information and understand the logic of the operation of the medical system. Only then can we be qualified to challenge the authority of the medical profession and delve into the core of the interaction between doctors and patients.
However, for sociology students, medicine is like a giant white tower that is difficult to break through. Not only is the medical literature as unfamiliar as an alien language, but the complex hospital organization has professionals of various grades spinning around like a top every day. Even if you find a way to overcome the barriers and enter the hospital to do field work, it will be difficult to interact with this group of professionals without understanding the model of medical operations. Because of this, many sociologists can only conduct research through questionnaires or secondary databases, and it is difficult to conduct in-depth life experience exploration and direct action observation analysis.
This course is divided into two parts: health and medical treatment. The purpose of medical treatment is to maintain life and health, but various forces generated by society often affect our health more than individuals' own decisions and medical behaviors. First, we will introduce several major social factors of health, including class, gender, race, etc., as well as the impact of demographic structure such as family, lifestyle, aging and other factors on health. The second is to explore the relationship between health and disease, starting from the experience of illness and the role of the patient, discussing how sociology understands health and how to define disease, and incorporates medicalization and lifestyle medicine into the curriculum to consider the impact of medical treatment on personal life management in modern society. Finally, I will share how to deal with the interaction between doctors and patients from the perspective of a clinician with many years of experience, and analyze the operation of modern hospital organizations using the theory of organizational sociology. I hope it will help students who are interested in medical issues to become more familiar with and eliminate the fear of unfamiliarity when conducting fieldwork in hospitals. In addition to the major topics of health, disease, doctor-patient relationship, and hospital organization, the final focus will be on the impact that government policies, especially national health insurance and possible future long-term care policies, will have on the organizations that provide care, as well as the actions and experiences of caregivers or care recipients.

1 William C. Cockerham（何斐瓊譯），2013，《醫療社會學》（Medical Sociology 12/E），雙葉書廊。
2 Barry and Quill（郭寶蓮譯），2009，《健康社會學導讀》（Understanding the Sociology of Health），韋伯文化。
3 David Wainwright（游卉庭譯），2012，《健康的社會學視界》（A Sociology of Health），韋伯。
4 Peter Conrad（許甘霖譯），2015，《社會醫療化：論人類境況如何轉為可治之症》（The Medicalization of Society: On the Transformation of Human Conditions into Treatable Disorders），巨流。
5 張苙雲，2009，醫療與社會：醫療社會學的探索(第四版)，巨流。

1 William C. Cockerham (translated by He Feiqiong), 2013, "Medical Sociology 12/E", Shuangye Bookstore.
2 Barry and Quill (translated by Guo Baolian), 2009, "Understanding the Sociology of Health", Weber Culture.
3 David Wainwright (translated by You Huiting), 2012, "A Sociology of Health", Weber.
4 Peter Conrad (translated by Xu Ganlin), 2015, "The Medicalization of Society: On the Transformation of Human Conditions into Treatable Disorders" (The Medicalization of Society: On the Transformation of Human Conditions into Treatable Disorders), Juliu.
5 Zhang Longyun, 2009, Medical Care and Society: An Exploration of Medical Sociology (4th Edition), Juliu.