This paper discusses Integral Healthcare. Based on the realization that health imbalances stemming from diseases are due not only to medical-biological reasons, but also to processes related to the individual's life history, family, and society, this paper begins by discussing the capabilities and limitations of healthcare professionals, especially physicians. It then discusses the fragmentation of medical science and the specialization of medical practice into rigidly compartmentalized subject areas, and defends the need for interdisciplinary efforts in an integral approach to healthcare. It goes on to analyze the inequalities in doctor-patient relationships, championing dialogue as an alternative route for reducing these inequalities. Integral healthcare emerged as a way of curbing hegemony in medical training and practice, and has been adopted by the Brazilian health movement as a set of desirable attitudes, especially that of valuing the association between healthcare and social practices. In conclusion, the paper outlines ways forward to bring about more integral healthcare, starting with a discussion on user demands and needs with regard to available healthcare technological resources. It also discusses access issues within micro-level healthcare policies, systems, and flows, which need to be based on an understanding of the logic behind user needs, while also incorporating ethical and technical values.
Integral Healthcare; Humanized doctor-patient relationship; Integrality