Health care or
healthcare is the prevention, treatment, and management of illness and the preservation of mental and physical well-being through the services offered by the medical, nursing, and allied health professions
http://www.answers.com/healthcare&r=67#copyright . The organised provision of such services may constitute a health care system. This can include a specific governmental organisation such as, in the UK, the National Health Service or a cooperation across the National Health Service and Social Services as in Shared Care. Before the term "healthcare" became popular, English-speakers referred to
medicine or to the
health sector and spoke of the treatment and prevention of illness and disease.
Healthcare as an industry
The healthcare industry is one of the world's largest and fastest-growing industries. Consuming over 10 percent of gross domestic product of most developed nations, health care can form an enormous part of a country's economy. In
2003, health care costs paid to hospitals, doctors, nursing homes, diagnostic laboratories, pharmacies, medical device manufacturers and other components of the health care system, consumed 15.3 percent
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/statistics/nhe/historical/highlights.asp of the GDP of the United States, the largest of any country in the world. In 2001, for the OECD countries the average was 8.4 percent
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/10/20/2789777.pdf with the United States (13.9%), Switzerland (10.9%), and Germany (10.7%) being the top three.
The healthcare industry includes the delivery of health services by doctors and other allied health providers. Usually such services receive payment from the patient or from the patient's insurance company; although they may be government-financed (such as the National Health Service in the United Kingdom) or delivered by charities or volunteers, particularly in poorer countries.
External links
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HRC/Eldis Health Resource Guide New research and other resources on health in developing countries
USA-specific
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Health care company profiles at NNDB .
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Students with Specialized Health Care Needs .
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Health Care, Nutrition, and Goal One .
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Education and Health Care Advocacy .
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Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality .
References
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Category:Public services
