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A patient's personal experience of an illness is as important as the illness itself. A patient-centred approach focuses on the patient's views and feelings concerning his health problem or illness, i.e., his beliefs, fears, his expectations, and the impact that the problem or illness is having on his life. A review of the literature by a group of researchers at the University of Western Ontario suggests that this approach results in improved patient satisfaction, observance and results. This approach can be used on a daily basis in almost all clinical situations. The results of a study on strategies used by clinicians with experience in family medicine to detect the "functional" patient are also presented.