[Quality of life and the healthcare system: do we know what we are doing? On the importance of quality of life from the perspective of patients]

Abstract

"Healthcare" is not an exact term but an abstract representation of a system which itself is unable to create quality of life. The term "quality of life" is a general term. Every human being is part of the world he or she lives in (his or her "lifeworld", "Lebenswelt"). Health and disease have a direct and, through individual system components, significantly different effect. Is there a healthcare system? Which resources are available to this healthcare system and the individual persons themselves? There are numerous and quite different components influencing a patient's individual quality of life. These components also include the professional philosophy of physicians, their professional practice and their communication skills in dealing with their patients. The disease-related quality of life can be categorised into the groups "occasional diseases," "chronic, incurable diseases," "diseases leading to disability," or "fatal diseases". In each group, the factors influencing quality of life are subject to a different individual assessment. Disease does not stop at the doctor's office, but becomes an integral part of life, which is especially true of predestined, life-long chronic diseases such as, for example, psoriasis, a chronic skin condition. Diagnosis und limiting factors in treatment have an impact on the patient's quality of life, too, and must be conceived of as "indication-related". Also, support from outside the professional healthcare system, in particular from patient self-help organisations, contributes to assisting patients with maintaining a high level of individual quality of life. Self-help is not only effective, but useful as well, as has been demonstrated by initial studies in Germany.

Keywords: Arzt-Patient-Beziehung; Gesundheitsversorgung; Gesundheitswesen; Güte der Lebensqualität; Healthcare; Lebensqualität; Lebenswelt; Wirtschaftlichkeit; cost-effectiveness; doctor-patient relationship; gesundheitsorientierte Selbsthilfe; health-oriented self-help; healthcare system; körperliche; lifeworld (Lebenswelt); physical; physische und soziale Beschränkungen; psychological and social restrictions; quality of life; quality of life degrees.