Internists cope with the challenge ofdeveloping standards, decision-making, quality improvement andpatient safety tools, and integrated health care delivery systems.2. Internists are able to translate theirknowledge into patient care. It is patient-centred, scientiﬁcally based and committed to ethical, scientiﬁc andholistic principles of care.Internal medicine, a clinical and a scientiﬁc discipline, creates andpromotesmedicalknowledge,methodsandclinicalabilities.Itanalyzesthe ﬁndings of other medical specialties and integrates them intostrategies for diagnosis, treatment and care for the individual patient.Speciﬁc ﬁelds of interests include problems caused by polymorbidity,patients with difﬁcult and complex diagnoses as well as preventive,acute, chronic and palliative care. The deﬁnition and mission statement of internal medicineInternal medicine is the core medical discipline that is responsiblefor the care of adults with one or more complex, acute, or chronicillnesses, both in the hospital and in the community. This includesgreater orchestration of patients, physicians and research teams, aswell as an even greater demand for fully informed consent in whichinternists play a pivotal role.1. It promises greater precision in diagnosis, opportunityfor earlier intervention, risk-based prevention, individualization ofcare, and optimization of the patient–clinician interface. Internal medicinerecognizes the changing needs of a modern, health-consciousconsumer. A holistic approachto medicine beneﬁts patients and society, taking into considerationthe ethical, socio-legal, and economic implications. Internal medicine can revive the essential approach inmedicaleducationandpracticeinlookingtoward“systemsmedicine”,which incorporates the complex biochemical, physiological, andenvironmental interactions that sustain humans. Modern medicine oftenneglects this comprehensive model and treats disease in isolation,without taking into account the dynamic, integrative systems in thehuman body. However, in the current health reform debate, littleattention is paid to how medicine is currently taught and practiced.Internal medicine does appreciate that the fundamental tenets ofhealth arise from understanding the interaction among genomics, theexternal environment, and behaviour. PreambleEvolving from reductonism to holism, is there a future for internalmedicine in Europe?Health reform discussions revolve around how best to achieve thegoals of improving quality, increasing the access to care, and costscontainment.

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