Self-care as Actualization of the Human Model in the Philosophy of Medicine

The study aims to argue that the humanist model of medicine approaches the practice of self-care, the latter being an actualization of the former concerning all those ideas and issues in which they overlap. The humanisitic model covers pacient-centred medicine and offers a holistic approach to the patient which involves treating him/her as a patient, not as a body (as in biomedicine), emphasizes the doctor-patient partnership atmosphere, a relational, communicational and informational environment. The concept of spatialization in philosophy came out as an empirical mecanicist model in sciences and influenced the appearance of the biomedical model. In the humanistic model, the patient can be, to a certain extent, the factor making decisions with regard to the chronic disease. Self-care matches especially the human medicine with regard to the outlook on the patient as a person (holism), the long-term partnership in the communication, information and correct decision-making for the disease, the empathic environment, the responsibility shared between two people, the assistance provided when making decisions for the patient’s “friendship”with the chronic disease.