Patient-centered medicine. A professional evolution.
American medicine is in the midst of a professional evolution driven by a refocusing of medicine's regard for the patient's viewpoint. Historically, medicine has been largely physician centered, but physicians have begun to incorporate patients' perspectives in ways that increasingly matter. Some call this shift "patient-centered" care. In support of the view that this refocusing reflects a broad professional shift, we describe the evolution to patient-centered care in many areas of medicine: patient care, health-related law, medical education, research, and quality assessment.
Center for Research in Medical Education and Health Care, Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pa 19107, USA.
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D015510:Clinical Medicine / Q000639:trends*; D032982:Contracts; D003657:Decision Making; D030881:Disclosure; D004501:Education, Medical; D004989:Ethics; D006801:Humans; D007883:Legislation, Medical; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D012106:Research; D035842:Research Subjects; D012922:Social Change; D012941:Social Responsibility; D012945:Social Values; D014342:Truth Disclosure; D035501:Uncertainty