Patient organisations in Czech, Slovak, European and world context, their status and role

Overview

Medicine at the turn of the 20th century is characterised by interest in knowledge from humanities. Approach to patients has changed from purely biomedical to biopsychosocial, the doctor – patient relationship has been transformed from a paternalist approach to partnership. The individual is at the centre of attention (i. e. ‘patient-centred healthcare’). Patient organisations have been founded on different levels (local, world) whose activities are based on medical documents stipulating general positions on relevant issues (Patient Rights, the Human Rights and Biomedicine treaty). These organisations are focused both on specifi c groups of patients (e. g. according to diagnosis) and on patients as such. Also established, under expert associations, are different patient forums. The objective of the paper is to provide an overview of major patient organisations and their goals, with emphasis on the sphere of reproduction medicine.

Key words:
patient organisations – patient-centred healthcare – reproduction medicine – holistic approach – psychosocial context