THE NEW RENAISSANCE OF FAMILY MEDICINE: MYTH OR REALITY
Vesna HOMAR1*, Igor ŠVAB2
1University of Ljubljana, Medical Faculty, Department of Family Medicine, Poljanski nasip 58, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
2University of Ljubljana, Medical Faculty, Vrazov trg 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Received: Oct 29, 2022
Accepted: Nov 28, 2022
Invited editorial
*Corresponding author: Tel. + 386 41 369 765; E-mail: vesna.homar@gmail.com
10.2478/sjph-2023-0001 Zdr Varst. 2023;62(1):1-4
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NOVA RENESANSA DRUŽINSKE MEDICINE: MIT ALI RESNIČNOST
© National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia. 
Homar V, Švab I. The new renaissance of family medicine: myth or reality. Zdr Varst. 2023;62(1):1-4. doi: 10.2478/sjph-2023-0001.
ABSTRACT
Keywords: 
family medicine, 
renaissance, 
core values
IZVLEČEK
Ključne besede: 
družinska medicina, 
renesansa, temeljne 
vrednote
Renaissance is the term used for the societal movement that marked the end of the Middle Ages. With the 
development of science came the rediscovery of the works and values of ancient scholars. This brought 
enormous development in all areas of society, including education. Man became the measure of all things, 
humanism became important again, and there was a blossoming of science and art. 
The ‘renaissance of family medicine’ took place approximately 50 years ago as a response to over-technical 
(even inhumane) medicine. Family medicine focused on the patient and was, as such, rediscovered and 
developed as a scientific discipline. 
In 2022 Wonca Europe launched a new document that set out the core values of family medicine, initiating a 
discussion about the ‘new’ renaissance of family medicine. The idea implies that, due to the changes brought 
about by rapid technical advances and recent global events, family medicine will develop further. However, the 
really intriguing question is whether these rapid and dramatic changes will actually result in a new renaissance 
of family medicine or whether they will result in its decline.
Izraz renesansa se uporablja za družbeno gibanje, ki je zaznamovalo konec srednjega veka. Z razvojem znanosti 
so bila ponovno odkrita dela starih učenjakov in njihove vrednote. To je botrovalo pomembnemu razvoju na vseh 
področjih družbe, tudi v izobraževanju. Človek je postal merilo vsega: humanizem je spet postal pomemben, 
znanost in umetnost sta cveteli.
Renesansa v družinski medicini se nanaša na gibanje pred približno petdesetimi leti, ki je nastalo kot odgovor 
na pretirano tehnično, celo nehumano medicino. Zaradi osredotočenosti družinske medicine na pacienta je ta 
pridobila pomen in se razvila v znanstveno disciplino.
Leta 2022 je evropsko združenje zdravnikov družinske medicine Wonca Europe predstavilo nov dokument, ki 
opisuje temeljne vrednote družinske medicine. Govoriti se je začelo o novi renesansi družinske medicine. Ideja 
je, da se bo družinska medicina zaradi sprememb, ki jih prinašajo nedavni svetovni dogodki in hiter tehnični 
napredek, bliskovito razvijala. Toda resnično pomembno vprašanje je, ali bodo te hitre in dramatične spremembe 
res ustvarile nov preporod družinske medicine ali pa bodo povzročile njen zaton.
1 INTRODUCTION
Renaissance is the term used for the societal movement 
that was especially pronounced in Italy and that marked 
the end of the Middle Ages. With the development of 
science came the rediscovery of the works and values 
of ancient (mostly Greek) scholars. It brought enormous 
development in all areas of society, including education. 
Man became the measure of all things, humanism became 
important again, and there was a blossoming of science 
and art.
We are also familiar with the term ‘renaissance of family 
medicine’, which took place around 50 years ago (1). The 
major technological developments made in medicine 
had failed to fulfil their promise, and clinical medicine 
was criticised for being inhumane. Family medicine, 
which is focused on the patient, was rediscovered and 
developed as a scientific discipline. This gave rise to the 
development of academic family medicine, and has since 
radically changed the educational system, especially at 
the universities.
Neither renaissance was created in a vacuum and each was 
the result of changes in society. If we want to understand 
the potential of the new renaissance of family medicine, 
we therefore need to look more closely into the societal 
changes we are experiencing, as they give an indication of 
the how society will develop in the future. 
In 2022 Wonca Europe launched a new document that set 
out the core values of family medicine (2). The document 
identifies seven core values that form the cornerstone of 
our professional identity. In this respect, it is a continuation 
of the European definition of family medicine (3). 
Discussion has recently begun about the new renaissance 
of family medicine. The idea implies that, due to rapid 
changes in medicine, especially those brought by recent 
global events (e.g. technological advances and the Covid-19 
pandemic), family medicine will see further development. 
The fact that medicine is changing rapidly is not new: 
some claim that about 80% of activities that are performed 
today will have to be changed at some point in the near 
future. However, the really intriguing question is whether 
these rapid and dramatic changes will actually create 
a new renaissance of family medicine – and it may well 
happen that they result in its decline.
2 DILEMMAS
2.1 On modern technologies
The success of modern technologies may be the biggest 
event in the history of our civilisation, but may also be 
the worst, as it could lead to the decline of humanism. 
All the technological solutions being developed today 
disregard humanism as a factor in their decisions, relying 
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instead on rationalism and mathematical logic. This 
reduces the potential for error and improves productivity. 
The logic behind the decisions suggested (and sometimes 
made) by artificial intelligence are based on rational and 
scientifically sound decisions. The loss of humanism is 
collateral damage of such a process, as humanism and 
empathy are not part of the calculation.
Family medicine is one of the last bastions of humanism 
in medicine. If this is lost, family medicine is lost, or it 
loses its essence. We may be facing the extinction of the 
core values of family medicine: empathy and humanism. Of 
course, family medicine will still exist as a discipline, but 
it will have to sacrifice its essence. We see that personal 
contact, the essence of family medicine, is rapidly being 
replaced by other means of communication (4). Even patient 
empowerment is based on protocols and on questionnaires 
that have to be completed, and much less on personal 
contact. We risk the family medicine of the future being 
dominated by productivity, standards and protocols. 
On the other hand, modern technologies might spur 
further advances in family medicine by reducing family 
doctors’ workload and improving the health of patients 
and of the population as a whole. 
This could, in turn, make the family doctor’s work easier. 
Modern technologies will lead to many routine and low-
demand tasks being automated and replaced by machines, 
while complex, demanding situations will become the core 
business of family doctors. It is possible that the health 
system will no longer require as many family doctors, 
thereby solving the impossible challenge of producing 
primary care doctors in such large numbers. 
Modern technology will also vastly reduce bureaucracy 
and increase the accessibility of patient information. All 
patient data will be easily accessible, compatible with 
global databases, and tied to the latest science and 
best practices. Bureaucracy will remain invisible in the 
background (where it belongs). 
With technology, patients will become empowered to 
access information. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has 
clearly shown the confusion that can be created by social 
media and the available of large masses of information. 
People will always benefit from seeing relevant 
information as a meaningful and comprehensible entity, 
and family doctors explain all the information and disease 
in the context of people’s lives (5).
Technological innovations will never completely replace 
human doctors when it comes to doctor-patient contact 
(4); they will merely enhance the abilities of doctors 
so that they can do their job better. In this context, 
technological advances are not a threat because they 
enable family doctors to have enough time to deal with 
complex issues that require focus, creativity and empathy. 
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2.3 On teaching
If we follow negatives ways of reasoning, it will be very 
difficult for us to modify our teaching. A list of some of 
the topics for future curricula that would be adapted to 
the new realities of medicine might include, for example, 
the maximisation of personal benefit, the rules and 
principles of bureaucracy, the dangers of humanism and 
the avoidance of responsibility. Some of these topics 
are already part of the hidden curriculum for the new 
generation of doctors.
However, if we take a positive look at the future, we should 
strive to equip younger generations of family doctors with 
communication and teamwork skills so that are they are 
able to develop self-respect and self-preservation strategies 
that will protect them from burnout. They should know 
how to take care of themselves so that they are able to 
take care of others in the long run. This is the path of 
altruism. If they choose to tale that path, they should be 
aware that self-sacrifice on behalf of patients will lead to 
problems in their personal and professional lives (10).
Young family doctors should be taught to thrive in their 
profession, to value and challenge experiences, mindlines 
(11) and guidelines, to become competent leaders, and to 
respect the core values of family medicine. 
Finally, if we want family doctors to lead primary 
healthcare, they should be taught empathy, which is a key 
competence for future leaders. 
3 CONCLUSION
We live in privileged times. There is an important societal 
movement under way and a new relationship in the process 
of being created: a renaissance of the doctor-patient 
relationship in which the welfare of society becomes the 
measure of all things. If we encourage these changes, 
doctors will have time for creative and intellectual work 
that solves complex problems, and will also have the 
energy and motivation to undertake that work. 
The new renaissance of family medicine may be a myth, 
but may also become reality. We do not know what the 
future will bring. 
The only thing we can hope for is that society will enable 
us to develop a humane medicine. The most important 
thing we can do is to teach the younger generations the 
importance of being humane.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  
The authors would like to thank Roger Price and Egle Price 
for their wise suggestions and valuable contributions.
2.2 On empathy and indifference
In the new core values document (2), the word, ‘humanism’ 
is mentioned only in one statement under ‘continuity 
of care’: The doctor-patient relationship is based on 
personal involvement and confidentiality. Empathy is not 
mentioned as one of the core values of family medicine, 
and there may be a logical reason why this is so. Empathy 
is difficult to measure. Most studies relate empathy and 
humanism to patient satisfaction, and above all to doctors’ 
perceptions of what is important to them in their role as 
doctors (6). Although there are validated instruments for 
assessing empathy among healthcare workers (7, 8), only 
circumstantial measures exist for assessing productivity 
and quality of care. As empathy is difficult to quantify, it 
cannot be specifically rewarded, nor can it be incorporated 
into any of the algorithms.
Personal contact with a suffering patient is emotionally 
very demanding; indeed, doctors and patients consider 
this one of the greatest ‘burdens’ of being a doctor. It 
is much easier and more comfortable to be detached. 
Quite often, the public expects doctors to be indifferent. 
The media has long thrived on stories that diminish the 
respect that doctors used to enjoy. The media has been 
quite successful in portraying doctors as incompetent, 
indifferent and sometimes inhumane people who use 
humanism only when they want to earn a higher income. 
These portrayals of the figure of the ‘new doctor’ have 
been so successful that people no longer expect their 
doctors to be humane. People see that those who are not 
burdened by humanism are more successful – i.e. that if 
one wants to be powerful, one has to be indifferent.
On the other hand, the importance of empathy is 
increasingly being recognised (6). The frequency with 
which the word ‘empathy’ is used in lay language has 
doubled over the last four decades. First-year medical 
students know what empathy means and feels like, 
and they are learning how to express it faster than any 
previous generation. There is strong scientific evidence 
that participation in empathy-focused training can 
promote personal growth and professional development, 
leading to better patient care (9). Future doctors will 
need to further develop skills that promote empathy, and 
this is something from which they will benefit.
Empathy is hard to practise, but it also makes a doctor’s 
life worthwhile. Young people choose medicine because 
the challenges involved in the profession are ones that 
they are willing to accept. They want to be engaged in 
life. The public also expects family doctors to be engaged 
and humane. Family doctors are respected not only for 
their expertise, but also because they care. People vote 
for leaders who care. The whole of society is slowly but 
steadily evolving into a caring society. This is applied 
humanism in the real world.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
FUNDING
This editorial was produced without external funding.
ETHICAL APPROVAL
Ethical approval is not required for this editorial.
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