MEDICAL PROFESSIONALISM AND ETHICAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS FOUNDATIONS OF PERSON-CENTERED MEDICINE

Abstract

Person-centered medicine (PCM) is a concept that has gained increased acceptance, being a broader term than patient-centered medicine. With PCM the whole of a person is taken into consideration, whether healthy or in disease as well as his or her family. The person of the health professional is also incorporated in this concept. In this article, ethical background to person-centeredness in universal declarations and some international central policies are addressed. Primarily, the UN Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) will be discussed as well as official policy documents of the World Medical Association (WMA). Lastly, the content of a WMA Declaration on Medical Professionalism are discussed.