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In 1967, Balint (Balint, 1969) proposed a shift from a disease-orientated model to a patient-centered model of medicine. Concerning physicians, this entails a broader knowledge of a given patient’s status that not only includes biological data and test results but also information regarding the patient’s psychology and overall well-being. In other words, Balint has set the grounds for substituting the term ‘illness’ for the term ‘disease’ and also promoted the notion that patient care can be guided (even indirectly) by the patient and his/ her needs (Balint, 1969; Wolfe, 2001).
Evidently, this approach can be considered as the first step towards individualized management (Kitson et al., 2013) given that each patient is considered as unique, and the final decision regarding his/ her management is based on information concerning not only his/ her biological profile but also his/ her psychosocial needs (holistic approach).
In order to achieve all the above, patient-centered medicine must be based on mutual trust, understanding and smooth communication between patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals (Ridd et al., 2009), thus leading to a valuable exchange of information. Concerning patients, patient-centered medicine does not axiomatically translate to patients who are active and willing to participate in their management. Patients may ask for a holistic approach but may not want to take responsibility and/ or participate in decisions regarding their treatment. Therefore, the final call regarding their management will be a choice made by their physician.
Moreover, it should be noted that some patients disagree and feel uncomfortable with discussing, with their physician, aspects of their life that seem irrelevant to the symptoms and signs that correlate with their disease such as psychosocial issues (Bensing, 2000).