Breaking barriers to improving shared decision-making in dermatology: the importance of a worldwide congress of dermatology
The major role of the World Congress of Dermatology in defining the future of dermatology
Despite being often overused, the term ‘holistic’ is the word that best describes a global approach to health.
The holistic vision considers our body as a whole and implies that it should be treated as such. Clinical medicine instead is divided into many specialised fields.
This subdivision brought great benefits to the patients, who can receive expert management from specialist doctors (e.g., surgeons, internal physicians, dermatologists, orthopaedics, gynaecologists, neurologists, dentists, cardiologists, radiologists etc.).
According to this approach the human body is often viewed as a machine of different parts and systems, and this has led to a siloed approach to treat diseases, often neglecting an overall view which includes also the psychological and social aspects of disease, the human dimension and fails to considers the patient in his entirety.
Holism in medicine represents a global approach to the state of health and illness, it takes into consideration the union of body, mind, environment and society. The focus is on the person rather than on the disease, seeking for the psychophysical balance of the system over the specific treatment of the single organ, stimulating the self-healing process of the human body.
Health doesn’t mean just the absence of disease, it must also mean the global well-being of body and soul, living in harmony. The treatment of a disease will have to take into consideration all the aspects of the patient’s life.
In it in this spirit that WCD 2023 will work towards greater interactions between dermatologists and other health care providers from around the world. It will also attempt to bring into focus the pressing issues of global health, climate change and sustainability, how they impact dermatology and what is needed to prepare ourselves and our discipline for the future.
WCD 2023 will aim to advance dermatology by broadening its vision and widening its scope, through the contribution of renowned professionals as well as young scholars. WCD 2023 will focus on the most modern treatments and technologies to chart new paths for dermatology, with the collaboration of experts from various sub-specialties of dermatology and beyond.