French Roots and Contributions in Person Centered Medicine and the Emergence of a Francophone Observatory

Abstract

There have been significant French roots and contributions in the conceptualization and programmatic development of Person Centered Medicine. A basic and general one is the revolutionary French contributions to the concept of human rights. Broad stimulation has been derived from Paul Tournier’s Medicine de la Personne. Another one, within the framework of health, is the founding of the World Psychiatric Association in Paris in 1950, informed by the articulation of science and humanism, terms that have evolved as key concepts of person centered psychiatry and medicine. To be also recognized are the organization of a pioneering Paris Conference on Psychiatry for the Person in 2008 and the evolving engagement of important French professional societies in support of the development of person centered medicine. A process of annual Geneva Conferences on Person Centered Medicine since 2008, has  led to the establishment of an International Network and an International College of Person Centered Medicine (ICPCM).  Building on this rich background have appeared in recent years two monographic Manifests in French, one for psychiatry of the person in 2009 and another for medicine of the person in 2012. These book length statements led more recently to the development of L’Observatoire Francophone de la Médecine de la Personne (OFMP) aimed at linking relevant institutions and individuals in addressing the foundations of medicine through experience, reflection and research. The specific goals, approaches and procedures of the OFMP promise to lead the cultivation of person centered medicine to new heights in the francophone world and potentially to new French contributions to person centered medicine across the world.