Healthcare systems

Healthcare systems (pronunciation: /ˈhelθker ˈsɪstəmz/) refer to the organization of people, institutions, and resources that deliver healthcare services to meet the health needs of target populations.

Etymology

The term 'healthcare system' is derived from the words 'healthcare' and 'system'. 'Healthcare' is a compound word formed from 'health' and 'care', where 'health' comes from the Old English 'hǣlth', meaning 'wholeness, a being whole, sound or well', and 'care' comes from the Old English 'caru', meaning 'sorrow, anxiety, grief'. 'System' comes from the Late Latin 'systema', meaning 'an entire body; a set, a composition', which is derived from the Greek 'systēma'.

Related terms

Public health: The science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities.
Primary care: The day-to-day healthcare given by a healthcare 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.
Healthcare provider: An individual or an institution that provides preventive, curative, promotional, rehabilitative or palliative care services in a systematic way to individuals, families or communities.
Healthcare policy: The plans, decisions, and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific healthcare goals within a society.

Healthcare systems

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