Special seminar "Quaternary Prevention (P4) or First do not harm "

Quaternary prevention (P4), an answer of family doctors facing overmedicalization aims to protect the patient or population against the dangers of medicine. Harmful effects can appear with preventive activities (example: prostate cancer screening by PSA) such as by therapeutic interventions (example: disruptive medicine). P4 promoted by the Wonca (World Organization of Family Doctors) is practiced in different ways around the world. The seminar should present examples of teaching and application of P4 in different countries. 6 short talks (total 45 min) will be followed by an open roundtable about the philosophical aspects of P4, where the audience can participate. Asking the question: « is acting always justified in medicine? », P4 opens our thinking to a philosophy of action. Questioning the best way to reduce uncertainty, P4 is rooted in a philosophy of knowledge. How to decide action or abstention? How to appreciate the danger of both? How to accompany a patient without harmful effects (primum non nocere)?
More about P4 on www.ph3c.org/p4.