ABSTRACT
Health care is a particularly relevant empirical setting for a study of polycontexturality due to its complexity, which comprises multiple contextures such as medicine, economics, politics, law and science that form different arrangements. Health care is an extreme case of polycontexturality. This chapter draws on sociological systems theory, particularly the concepts of functional differentiation, polycontexturality and polyphony. Systems theory has been called the second-order observation theory because it observes observations. The object of study is communication: about illness, living conditions, gender, race and the like. The theory of functional differentiation forms a cornerstone in Luhmann's theory of modern society. The most prominent function systems are law, economy, politics, art, education, science, religion, love, medicine and the mass media. They all observe their environments differently based on different codes and programmes. The concepts of polyphony and polyphonic organisations have developed particularly within narrative approaches to organisational analysis.
