Healthcare is the medical care or development of healthcare in people through the diagnosis, prevention, treatment, cure, or recovery of disease, injury, illness, and other physical and psychological impairments. Healthcare includes direct patient care, including diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care; and indirect patient care, which includes information planning, organization and delivery of services, and therapeutic services. Healthcare providers are physicians, surgeons, nurses, nursing specialists, and support personnel such as attendants, dietitians, therapists, and others. Healthcare provides treatment to both acute and chronic disorders and diseases.
The healthcare sector projects the quality of the output in the health outcomes of a patient and focuses on achieving the long term as well as the short term health outcomes. Healthcare investments are made on providing the right staff, promoting the efficient use of existing resources, developing new tools and techniques for the patient, building infrastructure and training the staff. Healthcare investments also include research and analysis on the new technologies and applications that have potential to improve healthcare services. There is an increasing demand for skilled personnel in the field due to the increased needs in the field of medicine.
A practitioner’s area of specialization is decided based on the job requirements and the kind of practice he/she wants to be involved in. The area of specialization consists of different areas like family practice, pediatrics, geriatrics, men and women’s health, acute care, adult practice, and occupational health care. As far as healthcare is concerned, there are many sectors that are providing the healthcare services like general practice management, health insurance and Medicaid, cardiology, dialysis, pulmonology, psychiatry, and trauma.
The major beneficiaries of the health care industry are the patients, who benefit from improved access to effective healthcare, better nutrition and lesser healthcare costs. This sector encourages physical fitness and mental vitality in the professionals, thus contributing significantly to the overall wellness of the society. This sector provides employment for thousands of professionals across various sectors. According to a survey conducted by the National Institute of Health, it was found that healthcare professionals are involved in 30% increase in the level of physical activity.
Healthcare education and certification are offered by several organizations. However, the courses offered are often broad and do not provide specialized training in specific fields of interest. For instance, an associate’s degree can often be obtained through a basic two-year course in nursing. It does not give the necessary knowledge for professionals like nurses, physician assistants and therapists who need a longer duration and more advanced training.
Another important thing that has made the healthcare industry as an attractive career option is the high availability of trained professionals. It has also made the job market much wider as qualified professionals are attracted by jobs in the healthcare industry. In the United States, there are many people opting for healthcare careers in the inner cities that are overcrowded with students and many offer little salary compared to others. Therefore, education and certification are the first choice for many people in these situations. However, recent developments have led to the entry of many professionals into this field.
Healthcare costs are also controlled by the free market, as there are fewer health insurance providers in the free market. Therefore, patient care is cheaper, which is another reason why people prefer going to the doctor when they experience a medical problem. Also, the free market forces healthcare providers to provide better quality of services and medical equipment, as they are competing with each other to attract patients.
A major advantage of the free market over the healthcare system is that healthcare providers are allowed to set their own prices, unlike the healthcare system where the government regulates prices and charges. This allows providers of healthcare services to vary their prices, depending on their profitability. Therefore, the right choice for a patient is dependent on his requirements. As long as he has sufficient money, he can choose to go for whichever healthcare service he needs.