As defined in the text, a subcategory of the pathology model that holds (1) that the underlying pathology is organic and (2) that the treatment should be conducted by physicians. See also learning model, pathology model, psychodynamic model.

top of the page | In this model, disability is considered as an individual pathology to be cured or rehabilitated by medical specialists.

Health services based mainly on providing health care once people are ill, rather than focusing on a more preventative and holistic approach (social model).

The medical model of disability and ageing implies that people are disabled as a consequence of their own condition, and seeks to either remedy the impairment through medication, rehabilitation and surgery, or through adaptive aids and equipment.

interprets health in terms of the absence of disease and illness

Medical model is the term (cited by psychiatrist Ronald D. Laing in his The Politics of the Family and Other Essays) for the "set of procedures in which all doctors are trained." This set includes complaint, history, examination, ancillary tests if needed, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis with and without treatment.