World Medical Association perspectives on person-centered medicine

Abstract

Part 3 reviews the conceptual bases of person-centered medicine, including historical, philosophical, and ethical perspectives. They highlighted the articulation of science and ethics as the core of person-centered medicine. Part 4 deals with key experiential factors. The rich and empowering concept of personhood was analyzed, followed by the value of communication and narratives in medical healing, and the crucial framework of culture and spirituality. Part 5 presents a session in honor of Paul Tournier, where the man and his vision were inspiringly reviewed. The crucial role of personal encounters leading to creative scientific and professional contributions were highlighted. Part 6 contains a penetrating analysis of the key domains in the patient's overall health. Specific attention was paid to illness, suffering, disabilities, and the various aspects of positive health. Part 7 covers clinical care, which was discussed in terms, first, of person-centered diagnosis that would describe ill health as well as positive health by employing categories, dimensions and narratives generated through the clinician, the patient, and family interactions. Also discussed in the seventh session were key elements of person-centered clinical practice and services. Part 8 deals with person-centered public health by examining the patient's protagonic role in health care, and the enhancement of prevention and health promotion activities by attending to the whole person of the subject. Some contributors came to the Geneva Conference assuming that clinicians always practice person-centered medicine and that no novel initiative was needed. The excellent quality and depth of the presentations and discussions , and their thoughtfulness, highlighted how much there was to share and to learn. The meeting also highlighted the relevance to general medicine and health care of the work already started by the WPA Institutional Program on Psychiatry for the Person (IPPP). The emerging challenge is to develop specific concepts , competencies, procedures, and resources to facilitate the application of a truly person-centered approach in everyday clinical practice. The Geneva Conference demonstrated the great benefits of collaboration in this venture among different medical specialists and across health professions. Presenters were invited to upgrade their papers to extend the value of the conference, with the feedback and guidance of the monograph editors.