Health care refers to any practice intended to improve overall health through diagnosis, treatment, prevention or cure of diseases, injuries or impairments in physical or mental health.
Health policy implementation is an intricate process involving many people and organizations. Additionally, its outcome can be affected by socioeconomic conditions and policies regarding healthcare provision.
Preventive care
Preventive care refers to any practice undertaken to proactively stop disease or condition from manifesting, thus decreasing emergency treatments and keeping health care costs down.
Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), many preventive services are free and included with most plans, including vaccinations for children, screening for cancer and chronic diseases, as well as counseling to assist patients in managing their health. These may include vaccines, screening tests for chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases or cancer screenings, as well as counseling sessions designed to assist individuals in better managing their wellbeing.
However, many still fail to take full advantage of these vital benefits due to financial barriers like copayments or deductibles.
Recent research indicates that cardiovascular examinations save thousands of Americans annually, while routine immunizations against polio, hepatitis A/B/DTaP vaccine, measles/mumps/rubella prevent 42,000 child deaths each year.
Emergency care
Emergency care refers to the treatment of physical injuries or illnesses with acute symptoms requiring urgent medical attention, including trauma, stroke, heart attack, aneurysms, cardiac arrests and obstetric emergencies.
Emergency services are an integral component of health systems, providing individuals who become acutely ill or injured with immediate care no matter the time or place (e.g. hospital or clinic). According to WHO (2010), emergency care can be defined as providing “medically necessary treatments to those experiencing acute events that need urgent attention”
Good emergency care service delivery can be defined by several key characteristics, including comprehensiveness, accessibility and coverage as well as quality service provision, accountability and efficiency.
Inpatient care
Inpatient care refers to any form of medical service requiring overnight stay at a hospital or other health care facility, whether that be to restore and stabilize health conditions or avoid complications from developing. In these instances, inpatient services may be necessary in order to facilitate recovery or avoid potential issues that might otherwise arise from outpatient services.
Inpatient care tends to be more expensive than outpatient services due to fees related to doctor fees and tests performed as well as facility charges.
There are many strategies for improving inpatient care while simultaneously lowering its costs, with one key aspect being access to reliable healthcare providers who offer timely, high-quality treatment for their patients.
Outpatient care
Outpatient care refers to any form of medical service that does not require an overnight stay at a hospital or medical facility. This could include services like regular health checkups, annual physical exams, blood work testing and screenings as well as treatment of serious illnesses.
Outpatient clinics and specialized treatment centers are becoming an increasingly important component of health care delivery, offering more cost-effective services than traditional hospitals while being more readily accessible to their patients.
One of the main advantages of outpatient care is allowing patients to recover at home with family, familiar objects and sounds of everyday life – this may facilitate faster healing than being forced into unfamiliar noises and lights of a hospital setting.
Chemical contamination
Chemical contamination can be a significant threat to human health, leading to food poisoning, behavioral issues, chronic illnesses and developmental defects.
Chemical contaminants are frequently detected in water supplies and waste streams from various industries.
When these chemicals exceed natural levels, they can become toxic for people and wildlife alike. Furthermore, their presence can have serious repercussions for human health including diseases, damage to genetic material and disruption of endocrine function.
Healthcare workers may frequently come into contact with biological and chemical risks. Therefore, it is vital that risk management plans and protective equipment continue to evolve to safeguard employees.
