Making medical: Treatment decisions in Dutch sciatica care and the relevance of medicalization for health policy making

Medicalization is a concept that speaks to all, and is easy to understand at first sight. It is however not easy to get a real grip on medicalization and to make its impact concrete. There is no uniform understanding of what it entails exactly. With regard to treatment decisions in Dutch sciatica care, it appeals that there is a nuances, more complex version of reluctant medicalization at play. What lessons can we learn for healthcare policy that provides 'grip' on further medicalization? This research makes it clear that medicalization is not an absolute state, but can be the partly undesirable and reluctant result of an interaction between doctor and patient. The arguments and factors that are important for both parties in that conversation can sometimes also be influenced via other channels than via healthcare. By creating coherent policy in various areas, healthcare does not have to provide the fastest solution for every problem.