Healthcare
Healthcare (ˈhɛlθˌkɛər)
Healthcare, also spelled as health care, is a broad term that refers to the organized provision of medical care to individuals or a community. The primary aim of healthcare is to promote, maintain, or restore physical and mental health through the prevention and treatment of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments.
Etymology
The term "healthcare" is a compound of two words, "health" and "care". The word "health" comes from the Old English "hælþ", which means "wholeness, a being whole, sound or well". The term "care" originates from the Old English "caru" or "care", which means "grief, anxiety, occupation".
Related Terms
- Health: A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
- Care: The provision of what is necessary for the health, welfare, maintenance, and protection of someone or something.
- Medical Care: The professional treatment for illness or injury.
- Public Health: The science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals.
- Primary Care: Day-to-day healthcare given by a health care provider.
- Secondary Care: Healthcare services provided by medical specialists and other health professionals who generally do not have first contact with patients.
- Tertiary Care: Specialized consultative healthcare, usually for inpatients and on referral from a primary or secondary health professional.
- Quaternary Care: An extension of tertiary care in reference to advanced levels of medicine which are highly specialized and not widely accessed.
See Also
- Healthcare System
- Healthcare Provider
- Healthcare Industry
- Healthcare Policy
- Healthcare Reform
- Healthcare Technology
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Healthcare
- Wikipedia's article - Healthcare
This WikiMD dictionary article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.
Languages: - East Asian
中文,
日本,
한국어,
South Asian
हिन्दी,
Urdu,
বাংলা,
తెలుగు,
தமிழ்,
ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian
Indonesian,
Vietnamese,
Thai,
မြန်မာဘာသာ,
European
español,
Deutsch,
français,
русский,
português do Brasil,
Italian,
polski