Healthcare is a broad term used to refer to medical services and the people who provide them. It includes hospitals, clinics, laboratories, pharmacies, and doctors.

Health care can also refer to a more comprehensive approach to improving overall health. This can include physical and mental factors, such as nutrition, sedentary lifestyles, and environmental factors.

Definitions

Health care or healthcare is the provision of medical services to improve the health of people. This includes work done by doctors, nurses, dentists, therapists and other allied health professionals.

Health is the complete physical, mental and social well-being of an individual or group. This is one of the fundamental human rights.

A health system is a network of individuals, institutions and resources that provide medical services to meet the needs of an individual or group. It can be a public or private system, depending on the nature of its funding and governance.

In most countries, health systems are based on a socialized model of healthcare. In this model, employees pay for their healthcare through payroll taxes that are collected by the government and remitted to an insurance company.

Spelling

English is a language with many spelling variants, and the healthcare industry is no exception. Spelling mistakes can lead to misdiagnosis, missed treatment, and a whole lot more.

For example, if a medical professional misspells the name of a medication in front of a patient, it may result in a negative outcome or even death.

There are several reasons for this, but one is the fact that a spelling mistake can result in a poor or inaccurate diagnosis, treatment, and medication prescription.

For example, if a health care professional misidentifies a drug as the medication for a patient who has diabetes or a heart condition, it can have disastrous consequences. Thankfully, there are a number of ways to prevent this from happening. This includes ensuring the accuracy of patient medical records and properly documenting and storing medications and other supplies.

Usage

Health care is the effort made by trained and licensed professionals to maintain or restore physical, mental, or emotional well-being. Healthcare is an adjective that includes the entire system or institution providing health care services.

Ideally, utilization of health-care services reflects a person’s need for those services to improve or maintain their health. However, many factors affect utilization independently of need.

For example, people’s health is affected by their individual characteristics and behaviors, the physical environment in which they live, and their socioeconomic conditions. The World Health Organization reports that health differs by sex, age, race and ethnicity, employment status, and other factors (ODPHP, 2017).

These factors affect a person’s ability to obtain needed services, including whether the services are available or accessible; if they are timely and convenient; and how much it costs. These factors also affect how well services are delivered and the quality of those services.

Examples

Health care is a term that refers to medical services for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of illness and disability. It includes work done by doctors, dentists, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, optometrists, physiotherapists and others in the healthcare field.

Healthcare systems are social institutions that deliver and manage services to meet the health needs of people. They are designed to be efficient, responsive, fair and equitable to achieve the best health outcomes for people.

A well-functioning health system requires a financing mechanism, a workforce that is adequately trained and paid, reliable information on which to base decisions and policies and well-maintained health facilities.

Primary care is the basic level of care for most patients and addresses a wide range of health concerns, often focusing on whole-of-life health. It aims to improve health, prevent disease and promote healthy lifestyles.

Secondary care is more specialized and focused on patients who need treatment from specialists with more in-depth knowledge about their specific conditions. It is generally provided in hospitals and sometimes clinics.