by Health care, or health care is the care of health through the preventative, identification, treatment, and rehabilitation of disease, injury, illness, physical and mental disability in humans. Health care is generally delivered by primary health care specialists and other associated health care fields. Primary health care specialists are physician assistants, nurses, physician assistants, dental assistants, pharmacy technicians, medical billers, laboratory technicians, nurse practitioners, medical assistants, and physical therapy aides. Health care workers may also include patient care workers such as licensed nurses and nursing aid; health care providers such as physicians, dentists, chiropractors, and podiatrists; physical therapist and occupational therapist technicians; pharmacy technicians; and pharmacy owners and operators.
The scope of health care delivery has diversified over time. At the primary level, primary care professionals treat the most common diseases and disorders. These include acute and chronic conditions such as acute coronary syndromes, asthma, diabetes, hypertension, orthopedic conditions, pneumonia, rheumatoid arthritis, skin diseases, sexually transmitted diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, and immunizations.
At the secondary level, health care professionals provide a broad range of services to address more complex health problems. These include prevention and control of diseases that are serious and infectious; elimination of diseases that are known to be associated with high health costs; and care of newly diagnosed patients. At the tertiary level, health professionals develop and coordinate care for patients with complicated health conditions and diseases. They also conduct researches and evaluation on diseases and their treatments. At this level, health professionals participate in research studies, administer and interpret health information, prepare and maintain health records, and communicate with other health professionals.
The scope of health services research is vast, and it has become an indispensable element of health care systems around the world. For example, in the UK, health service research involves investigating the impact of traumatic events on health services and the overall health of individuals. The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has established the Intramural Research Program in AIDS.
In Europe, the Agency for Healthcare Services Research and Development (ASCR) is responsible for the promotion of primary care and improving the quality of secondary care in the health care systems of various European countries, such as the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and France. ASCR also coordinates the training of medical staff in the different countries involved. In Germany, the Federal Ministry of Education and Knowledge coordinates the activities of the Federal Office for Health Care Quality, the Agency for Healthcare Service Reform and Germany’s Health Ministry. These associations work in close cooperation with each other to improve the quality of health care in the country.
The UK and the US have very fundamentally different health care systems, even though they are primarily developed on similar premises. As seen in the UK, the overall system has a much longer history and has developed on different assumptions. A major reason for this is that there was no direct predecessor to the NHS. In the US, a major element of the National Health Service (NHS) was set up as a result of the NHS; its influence over private health care provision is therefore much more limited.
National Health Service philosophy is based on the principle of providing care that is free at the point of service and covering all who need it. As long as health is not managed effectively, the health care system will fail. This is contrary to the philosophy of the NHS, which regards health as a fundamental purpose of society and considers health care as a public good. Both systems have different philosophies, but both have been implemented successfully.
The philosophy of the NHS is based around the “NHS principle”, which states that all people have a basic right to health care and that the NHS is committed to working towards making all people well. A further aspect of the NHS principle is that treatment is primarily provided when it is necessary, regardless of whether the person is wealthy or poor. However, many argue that these principles are being changed as health care becomes a profit-driven industry. The current debate about the direction of the NHS and its future aims to change these fundamental beliefs of the NHS.
