Biomedical, biopsychosocial and beyond

Since Engel’ famous description of, and attack on, “the biomedical model”, there has been considerable interest in developing alternative ways of thinking about and doing medicine that address some of its ills. Engel himself proposed a “biopsychosocial model”, which seeks to combine psychological and social facts with the biological facts already prominent in medicine to understand disease and its treatment. The model has now become more or less commonplace in the medical landscape, although it is subjected to its own criticisms. Defining biomedicine as a model to criticise and improve from has in fact a long tradition prior to Engel’s work, a tradition that is often forgotten. This chapter explores the past and future of criticising biomedicine, notably the biopsychosocial model, but also the recent revival of medical humanism that have followed in its path. Much like the “biopsychosocial” model, a “humanistic” model may sound attractive, but it could also prove to have its own drawbacks.