Health Care
Health care services are the total services and public and private institutions provided by the state to take care of the health of its citizens, whether in its own sector or within the private sector, and it is entrusted with approaching the patient. It includes all hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and human resources including doctors, nurses, medical device engineers, technicians, researchers, and everyone who works in this field.
It encourages industries that support medical services, such as the manufacture
of medicines,
devices, and others. It also includes medical research and education and creates
opportunities
for successive generations to support this sector.
Access to health care may
vary across
countries, communities and individuals, and is greatly influenced by social and
economic
conditions as well as existing health policies. Countries and jurisdictions have
different
policies and plans regarding personal and population healthcare goals in their
communities.
Health care systems are organizations established to meet the health needs of
the
population.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a well-functioning health care
system
requires
strong financing, a well-trained and adequately paid workforce, reliable
information on
which to
base decisions and policies, and maintenance of health facilities to provide
quality
medicines
and devices.
There are international organizations such as the Red Crescent, the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders and similar organizations.
Healthcare can contribute to a large part of a country’s economy. In 2011, healthcare consumed an average of 9.3 percent of GDP or $3,322 per capita in the 34 OECD countries. Highest spenders: United States (17.7%, or $8.50), Netherlands (11.9%, 5,099), France (11.6%, 4,118), Germany (11.3%, 4,495), Canada (11.2%, 5,669), and Switzerland (11% , 5,634), but life expectancy in the total population was highest in Switzerland (82.8 years), Japan and Italy (82.7), Spain and Iceland (82.4), France (82.2) and Australia (82.0), while the OECD average exceeded 80. All OECD countries have achieved universal (or near universal) health coverage, with the exception of the United States and Mexico.
An example of a healthcare achievement is the global elimination of smallpox in 1980, declared by the World Health Organization as the first disease in human history to be completely eradicated through healthcare interventions.