Health services are the facilities, equipment and personnel involved in the provision of medical care for individuals who require attention because of illness or disability. Those services may include preventive measures, such as vaccinations and screenings, therapeutic treatments, such as surgery, and supportive care, such as home health aides and nursing services. Health care is a complex topic with many interrelated factors, including availability of funding, infrastructure and policies.
The concept of health services encompasses a wide range of activities and is defined in different ways by the different communities that use them. While some of these communities are global, most are local and depend on social and cultural beliefs and practices for the definition of what constitutes “health.” The provision of health services depends on many different factors, such as proximity to health care facilities and professionals, costs, availability of medications and support for self-care, and a host of other personal characteristics.
In recent years, the field of health services research (HSR) has become increasingly interdisciplinary and draws on methodologies and data sets from disciplines such as sociology, economics, geography, public administration and epidemiology. The development of HSR began with the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in the 1970s, which led to the creation of new survey tools for collecting information on health care utilization. The emergence of these and other methodologies contributed to the growth of HSR as an academic discipline.
Among the most important health-related issues that are discussed in HSR is how best to organize and deliver health services. Several models of organizing health care have been used, with a mix of government agencies and private firms operating most healthcare systems. These organizations usually have a wide array of service delivery sites, ranging from community health centers and emergency departments to hospitals specializing in particular diseases or injuries.
The ten largest health systems, measured by number of staffed hospital beds, operate more than 1,200 hospitals and 175,000 staffed beds. Of these, the majority are Catholic systems. HSR studies tend to focus on how health systems perform, with a particular emphasis on access to care and the quality of the medical process. No country scores highly on all dimensions; for example, the highest ranked health system, Australia, does not rank well on either access or the quality of care process.
The most important function of a health system is to provide the health care that is needed by those who need it. However, health systems must also be efficient in providing the right care at the right time and in the right place. Whether implementing telemedicine or remote monitoring or streamlining billing and documentation, it is crucial to ensure that the right people are receiving the care they need in the most cost-effective way possible. This requires a balance of public and private sector resources that is constantly evolving.