Person Centered Medicine

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1515/1948-4682.1215
• Author: Jon Snaedal
• Published date: 01 July 2012
• Date: 01 July 2012

Volume 4, Issue 2 • 2012 • Article 2

Person Centered Medicine

Jon Snaedal, Geriatric Department, National University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland

Snaedal, Jon (2012) "Person Centered Medicine," World Medical & Health Policy: Vol. 4: Iss. 2,

Article 2.

DOI: 10.1515/1948-4682.2

©2012 Policy Studies Organization

Person Centered Medicine

Jon Snaedal, Geriatric Department, National University Hospital, Reykjavik,

Iceland

Abstract

Person centered medicine has emerged as a response to the organ specific, technical and

fragmented medical treatment and care that has evolved during the last century in health care

systems worldwide. Nevertheless, person centered medicine is not a new concept, as it is rooted in

ancient medicine, exemplified by the medical culture of the ancient Greeks. The main components

of Person Centered Medicine described here are the cornerstone for successful medical treatment

and care. The physician needs to use his communicative skills for this purpose, adhere to attentive,

empathic listening, be aware of the cultural, social and educational background of the patient

and understand the expectations of the patient for the therapy ahead. He must place the narrative

of the patient at the center of clinical evaluation. For this to be possible, the physician needs

to have the necessary professional competence and to adhere to the basic ethical principles of

medicine. He needs to collaborate not only with the patient, and in some instances with his or

her family, but also with other health care workers, whether in a close therapeutic team or with

individual professionals. He needs to critically evaluate evidence-based medicine that is most often

presented by various, complicated statistics and to adapt the results of research to his patients in a

person centered fashion. For this to be possible, the curricula of Medical Faculties, as well as to

mainstream, continuous professional development programs, needs to include the components of

Person Centered Medicine.

KEYWORDS: person centered medicine, personcenteredness, diagnosis, treatment, research,

evidence based medicine

Author Notes: Conflicts of interest: None declared. Corresponding author: Jón Snædal, Associate

Professor in Geriatric Medicine, National University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland. Email:

jsnaedal@landspitali.is.