Healthcare is a broad term that refers to services that work towards improving and maintaining people’s health. Over a few centuries, there is an accelerating increase in healthcare demand. Most of the profound changes that affect human societies are made possible by the ever-improving healthcare system. As this system improves, the quality of life of every person improves along with it. As the population grows, thus increases the demand and importance of the healthcare system. The truth is that society needs a stable healthcare system if it strives to flourish.
ROLE OF HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IN A COUNTRY
One essential factor that determines a government’s status in a country is the quality of its healthcare system. These services are different in each state, and each state has personalized healthcare policies. So highly developed countries have a developed healthcare system. You can judge the physical and mental state of people in general by judging the healthcare system of a nation. It is why this system has such a significant impact on the state’s economy too.
The healthcare system consists of services provided by the public and private sector to people in need. These services include diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and care when a person faces any illness, injury, or disability. Every person faces some disease or injury in their life, which makes the healthcare system so important.
TYPES OF HEALTHCARE
There are four types of healthcare.
- Primary care
- Secondary care
- Tertiary care
- Quaternary care
1. PRIMARY CARE
Primary healthcare is the essential service that people access according to how much they can afford. This type includes services that are quite basic and include everyday health matters. Primary healthcare is the first-hand care a person receives before they have to shift to advanced healthcare. So this means that the purpose of primary healthcare is to provide initial yet detailed healthcare to patients.
Primary healthcare is essential because it acts as the frontier lines in the war against illnesses and diseases. It keeps people out of hospitals and helps them manage and eliminate minor conditions or manage chronic diseases. This way, there won’t be much need for specialists and trips to the hospital’s emergency room because your health matters will be handled beforehand. Primary healthcare involves physicians, nurse practitioners, family practice doctors, internal medicine doctors, gynecologists, and pediatricians.
Among many other primary care professions, nurse practitioners are in high demand to perform almost the same tasks as doctors. More people are opting to become a nurse practitioner or stay up-to-date with the program. But you don’t always need to be on campus to study this program. You can opt for online studies, and your degree will be just as legitimate. The key is to consider online nurse practitioner program rankings before you enroll.
2. SECONDARY CARE
If the problem is beyond the primary health care providers’ expertise, the practitioner recommends a specialist. Secondary care is when you get the help of someone who holds expertise specific to your problem. The specialization focuses on one part of the body or a particular system of the body. It can also center on a particular condition or a disease; examples include cardiologists, endocrinologists, oncologists, etc.
People end up in secondary care when their condition is beyond the expertise of primary care professionals. It means that secondary healthcare is essential in the overall effectiveness of care services. Secondary healthcare also involves emergency treatments. Such services are vital in times when the situation is dire. So whenever a person faces any disease or illness that may be fatal or chronic, secondary care comes into play. While primary care professionals can help you maintain day to day health, secondary care helps people create more significant problems. The persistence of these problems can render a person incapable of being productive. It makes secondary healthcare even more critical to society.
3. TERTIARY CARE
When a person’s condition is dire, they get hospitalized. Once hospitalized, they may need special procedures to eliminate the problem and help a person recover. Such methods are known to fall under tertiary care. This area requires special equipment and professional expertise to match. Some tertiary care examples include coronary artery bypass surgery, plastic surgery, burn treatment, or neurosurgeries. Clinics and hospitals cannot provide this service. Only more significant facilities with special equipment and staff can give them. Tertiary care services are essential, as they increase the mortality rate in society. An example is that a person can die of a heart attack quickly. However, bypass surgery reduces their chances of heart attack and allows them to live longer.
4. QUATERNARY CARE
Quaternary care is an extended version of tertiary care but is very unusual. Only a few healthcare facilities offer quaternary care services, including experimental procedures or medicines or surgery processes. While not common, the quaternary care system helps healthcare professionals treat unusual cases and understand the origins of such a phenomenon. It makes this healthcare branch important to society.
CONCLUSION
The Healthcare system is crucial for the sustenance of this society. If all the various healthcare facilities are not provided in a country, it cannot function or flourish entirely. This world operates because of the productivity of people. But illnesses and injuries can render people unproductive to themselves and society. That is where the healthcare system comes to save lives, treat people, and help live normal lives.