Healthcare quality in a fragmented society: the Lebanese model

Quality of health care is largely dependent on a holistic approach to human person (HP). In Lebanon, the medical field, including neurology, seems to be ignorant to the integrity of the human person. The objective of this study is to provide an insight to the importance of reintegrating the HP in the medical field attempting to offer a basis for scientists interested in carrying out similar research in face of the complete lack of studies in Lebanon. This requires the contribution of various health care support systems to bring the topic into public dialogue allowing for a reassessment of the issue. The method utilized included semi-structured interviews, seminars and open discussion panels hosting a variety of representatives from society avoiding medical corporatism. These revealed a contradiction between ideological understanding of the importance of the value of the human person and practical application of this value. Most people who participated in the study acknowledged the importance of catering to the human in suffering as a whole focusing on the physiological aspect of illness but equally so on the spiritual, psychological and mental. However, those same people acknowledged that the situation in Lebanon was not considerate to the principle of unity of human person. The reasons for this discrepancy had their socio-economic and cultural roots and hindered the quality of care delivered to suffering individuals. This cannot be ratified except when all those concerned with medical care acknowledge the problem and show a willingness to deal with it through taking necessary positive action.