Health care

For other uses, see Health care (disambiguation).

Global concentrations of health care resources, as depicted by the number of physicians per 10,000 individuals, by country. Data is sourced from a World Health Statistics 2010, a WHO report.[needs update]
Graphic of hospital beds per 1,000 people globally in 2013, at top;[1] NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, a hub for health care and life sciences,[2] is one of the world's busiest hospitals, below. Pictured is its Weill Cornell facility (white complex at the center).

Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health professionals and allied health fields. Medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, midwifery, nursing, optometry, audiology, psychology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, athletic training, and other health professions all constitute health care. The term includes work done in providing primary care, secondary care, tertiary care, and public health.

Access to healthcare may vary across countries, communities, and individuals, influenced by social and economic conditions and health policies. Providing health care services means "the timely use of personal health services to achieve the best possible health outcomes".[3] Factors to consider in terms of healthcare access include financial limitations (such as insurance coverage), geographical and logistical barriers (such as additional transportation costs and the ability to take paid time off work to use such services), sociocultural expectations, and personal limitations (lack of ability to communicate with health care providers, poor health literacy, low income).[4] Limitations to health care services affect negatively the use of medical services, the efficacy of treatments, and overall outcome (well-being, mortality rates).

Health systems are the organizations established to meet the health needs of targeted populations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a well-functioning healthcare system requires a financing mechanism, a well-trained and adequately paid workforce, reliable information on which to base decisions and policies, and well-maintained health facilities to deliver quality medicines and technologies.

An efficient healthcare system can contribute to a significant part of a country's economy, development, and industrialization. Health care is an important determinant in promoting the general physical and mental health and well-being of people around the world.[5] An example of this was the worldwide eradication of smallpox in 1980, declared by the WHO, as the first disease in human history to be eliminated by deliberate healthcare interventions.[6]

  1. ^ "Hospital beds per 1,000 people". Our World in Data. Archived from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Governor Hochul, Mayor Adams Announce Plan for SPARC Kips Bay, First-of-Its-Kind Job and Education Hub for Health and Life Sciences Innovation". State of New York. 13 October 2022. Archived from the original on 1 November 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  3. ^ Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Monitoring Access to Personal Health Care Services, Millman M (1993). Access to Health Care in America. The National Academies Press, US National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. doi:10.17226/2009. ISBN 978-0-309-04742-5. PMID 25144064. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  4. ^ "Healthcare Access in Rural Communities Introduction". Rural Health Information Hub. 2019. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  5. ^ "Health Topics: Health Systems". www.who.int. World Health Organization. Archived from the original on 18 July 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  6. ^ World Health Organization. Anniversary of smallpox eradication. Geneva, 18 June 2010.