BIO-MEDICAL AND BIO-PSYCHO-SOCIAL DISEASE MODELS ON THE MOVE TO

Abstract

Abstract

Socio-political and economic health care decisions are often made on the basis of disease statistics alone. However, due to the changing panorama of diseases taking place in our century, especially healthcare of chronically diseased persons, it is often associated with impairing and cost-intensive, life-long concomitant personal and insurance-straining sequelae such as rehabilitation, psycho-social assistance, sick-benefits, invalidity pension or long-term care. These impacts must be considered simultaneously for appropriate decisions.  In social welfare states, legislature is increasingly following the Bio-Psycho-Social Disease Model instead of the Bio-Medical Disease Model alone, aiming to achieve an inclusive society and putting into effect the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Therefore, the time has come to harmonize or merge the two underlying WHO classifications, ICD and ICF. This move to enrich the instrument box of public health statistics for political decision makers is overdue.