Person Centered Care

Abstract

The term "patient centered medicine” was coined in 1969 by the psychoanalyst Enid Balint'. This approach understands the patient as a unique human being and considers the patient as a whole instead of having a narrow focus on the condition or symptoms only. It is in contrast to “illness-oriented care” which is aimed at finding a localizable fault, diagnosing it as an illness and then treating it. Over the years, the terminology has symbolically shifted to “person centered care”. The word “person” is used to emphasize a holistic approach in which the person's personal preferences, wellbeing and social and cultural background are also given due importance.