Justifying patient self-management – evidence based medicine or the primacy of the first person perspective

Patient self-management programs have become increasingly popular and are now also receiving official endorsements. This paper analyses two possible types of positive justifications for promoting patient self-management: evidence-based and patient-centred justifications. It is argued that evidence-based justifications, although important politically are deficient and that the primary justification for patient self-management must be a patient-centred justification focusing on the patient’s privileged access to his or her own lived body.