Healthcare policy
Healthcare policy
Healthcare policy (pronunciation: /ˈhelθˌker ˈpäləsē/) refers to the decisions, plans, and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific healthcare goals within a society.
Etymology
The term "healthcare policy" is derived from the combination of two words: "healthcare" and "policy". "Healthcare" is a compound word formed from "health" and "care", with "health" originating from the Old English word "hælth", which means "wholeness, a being whole, sound or well," and "care" from the Old English "caru", which means "sorrow, anxiety, grief". "Policy" comes from the French "police", which means "civil administration".
Definition
Healthcare policy encompasses a vast range of issues including public health, mental health, bioethics, and medical research. It can be defined as the decisions, plans, and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific healthcare goals within a society. It outlines priority areas and the expected roles of different groups; in doing so, it shapes the broader framework in which health actions are set.
Related Terms
- Public health: The science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities. This work is achieved by promoting healthy lifestyles, researching disease and injury prevention, and detecting, preventing and responding to infectious diseases.
- Mental health: Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.
- Bioethics: Bioethics is the study of the ethical issues emerging from advances in biology and medicine. It is also moral discernment as it relates to medical policy and practice.
- Medical research: Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as experimental medicine, encompasses a wide array of research, extending from "bench to bedside".
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