Healthcare services
Healthcare services
Healthcare services (pronunciation: /ˈhelθˌker ˈsɜːrvɪsɪz/) refer to the wide range of services provided by medical professionals to ensure the health and well-being of individuals. These services can be preventive, curative, or palliative and are delivered in various settings such as hospitals, clinics, and homes.
Etymology
The term "healthcare" is a compound of the words "health" and "care". "Health" comes from the Old English word "hælþ", which means "wholeness, a being whole, sound or well". "Care" originates from the Old English word "caru" or "cearu", which means "sorrow, anxiety, grief". Thus, healthcare implies the maintenance or improvement of health via prevention, diagnosis, treatment, recovery, or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people.
Types of Healthcare Services
- Primary Care: This is the first point of contact for patients and involves general healthcare services provided by general practitioners, family physicians, internists, and pediatricians.
- Secondary Care: This involves specialized healthcare services provided by medical specialists such as cardiologists, urologists, and dermatologists.
- Tertiary Care: This involves highly specialized healthcare services provided by sub-specialists such as neurosurgeons, plastic surgeons, and cardiothoracic surgeons.
- Quaternary Care: This involves advanced levels of medicine which are highly specialized and not widely accessed. Experimental medicine and some types of uncommon diagnostic or surgical procedures are considered quaternary care.
- Emergency Care: This involves immediate care services provided in emergency situations to prevent death or disability.
- Home Healthcare: This involves healthcare services provided in the patient's home for the treatment of illness or injury.
- Telehealth: This involves the use of digital information and communication technologies to access healthcare services remotely and manage healthcare.
Related Terms
- Healthcare Provider: A person or institution that provides medical services.
- Healthcare System: The organization of people, institutions, and resources to deliver healthcare services to meet the health needs of target populations.
- Public Health: The science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities.
- Health Insurance: A type of insurance coverage that pays for medical and surgical expenses incurred by the insured.
- Patient: A person who is receiving care or treatment from a healthcare provider.
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