RETHINKING THE CLASSIFICATIONS OF MEDICINES: A PROPOSAL FOR INTERCULTURAL CONTEXTS.

The article, firstly, deals with some definitions and classifications of medicines generated in the social science and biomedical fields. Then, the author proposes a systematization of medicines, incorporating new categories, as well as the notion of ethno-medical configuration, to explain healthcare in intercultural contexts. The categories introduced are biomedicine, traditional medicine, alternative medicine, religious therapy or medicine, and lay-treatment. Finally, as an illustrative example, the paper focuses on the ethno-medical configuration of the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The goal of this systematization is proposing categories that consider the understandings and behaviors of social actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]