The expression health-care is the provision of medical services plus the general prevention and management of sickness using professional medical resources. Yet, The WHO believes the meaning should also incorporate all related industries and be a service available to everyone irrespective of who they, which means individuals as well as whole groups of people. Working to together this way, the whole medical community would fall under the expression health care system.
Early before the phrase healthcare was commonplace, the English speaking countries called it just plain medicine or more usually the health sector but it still meant the provision of a health service to treat and cure sickness and disease. Even in most developing countries there is a form of health care provision for everyone whether they are in a position to pay or not. Of course the first country wide healthcare service begun in the UK in 1948 and was called The National Health Service being the first to be organized and funded by the administration.
Instead a system of compulsory administration funded health insurance with nominal fees can be provided, as with Italy, which, according to The WHO, has the second-best health system in the world. Other examples are Medicare in Australia, established in the 1970s by the Labor administration, and by the same name Medicare in Canada, established between 19.6 and 1984. These systems are almost opposite to the systems presently provided in American and South Africa although there are huge changes taking place in the system used by South Africa. A healthcare professional is someone who dedicates their skills to the prevention, treatment and aftercare of disease and illnesses with the intention to preserve and protect life and improve the lives of the disabled or infirm.
Whether you use the phrase healthcare industry or not, it is still one of the fastest growing around the world with an average cost of ten percent of gross domestic product it also plays a large part in the economy of any country. Although in 2003 the health care costs paid to across the entire health care system, consumed 15.3 percent of the GDP of The USA, the biggest of any country in the world and is expected to reach 19.6 percent of GDP by 2016.
This fact is highlighted by the large number of American citizens who have serious concerns about their health care, around 180 million to be precise, and the main worry for anyone seeking employment in The United States. The steep rises in the health care system in America almost contributed to the bankruptcy of the giant car manufacturer General motors. It was only after negotiations with the unions to reduce certain health benefits and the subsequent sell off of its poorly performing finance division that stopped the unthinkable from occurring.
Workers in The United States place this as their number one priority when looking for a possible employer and often will move to a lower paid position just to improve their medical care. Possibly it is time healthcare was looked at in a different way and perhaps called health preservation with an accent on fitness and health to ease the need for a top heavy health care system which is becoming a international problem.
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