Abstract
Over the last few decades, a large body of research has clearly demonstrated that the traditional disease-focused, biomedical approach to illness management is less effective than a biopsychosocial, evidence-based, patient-centered approach. The utility of this more comprehensive approach has been evident for both a variety of chronic illnesses and, more recently, acute medical conditions. In contrast to the traditional biomedical model of illness, which typically reduces illness to a pathophysiologic disease process, a biopsychosocial approach accounts for the complex interaction among biologic, psychological, social, and behavioral factors [1].