Health care provider

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Health care provider

A Health care provider (pronunciation: /ˈhelTH ˈker prəˈvīdər/) is a person or organization that provides preventive, curative, promotional, or rehabilitative health care services in a systematic way to individuals, families, or communities.

Etymology

The term "Health care provider" is a compound noun, combining "health care," which is first recorded in 1940, and "provider," which dates back to the 15th century. The term as a whole has been in use since the late 20th century, reflecting the shift in health care delivery from individual practitioners to a more organized and systematic approach.

Related Terms

  • Health care: The organized provision of medical care to individuals or a community.
  • Primary care provider: A health care practitioner who sees people that have common medical problems. This person is most often a doctor.
  • Secondary care provider: A health care provider who a patient sees for specialist services on referral from a primary care provider.
  • Tertiary care provider: A health care provider who provides highly specialized care, usually on referral from a primary or secondary care provider.
  • Health care system: The organization of people, institutions, and resources that deliver health care services to meet the health needs of target populations.
  • Health care professional: A person who provides preventive, curative, promotional or rehabilitative health care services in a systematic way to people, families or communities.
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