Health services are the services a society provides to maintain and promote human health. They may be administered by a government agency or by private entities such as hospitals, clinics and physicians’ offices. Many different work settings are associated with this field, and the career paths for workers vary depending on their level of education and expertise. Professional organizations are available to provide continuing education opportunities and to help workers with networking needs.
Health care is the maintenance or improvement of health by medical and allied professions. It includes prevention, diagnosis, amelioration and cure of disease, illness, injury and other physical and mental impairments in people. The delivery of health care is facilitated by medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, midwifery, nursing, optometry, audiology and other allied health professionals. It also involves the administration of vaccination programs and adherence to medication schedules.
Most nations have some form of national healthcare, but the system varies from country to country. The basic requirements for a functioning healthcare system include a financing mechanism, a sufficiently trained and adequately paid workforce, reliable information on which to base decisions and policies, well-maintained facilities and the provision of quality medicines and equipment.
There is wide variation in access to health services throughout the world, with some populations not even having regular contact with more conventional forms of Western medicine or a family doctor. In these cases, they may rely on traditional medicine provided by herbalists and healers.
A thriving health service industry requires personnel with a variety of skills, from managers to laboratory technicians. The qualifications for a career in this field typically begin with an associate or bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline. Those wishing to advance to managerial positions can obtain a master’s or doctoral degree in the subject.
Those working in health services often find themselves confronted with ethical and moral issues. The duty to act in the best interests of a patient can conflict with other duties, such as obligations to colleagues or to society. This can be particularly difficult for medical professionals who have to make a decision between a patient’s needs and their own personal values.
There is a strong body of research in the field of health services, with contributions from diverse disciplines such as biostatistics, clinical science, epidemiology, economics, gerontology, health psychology, management, law, geography, anthropology, philosophy, political science, sociology, statistics and actuarial science. This research has produced a range of theories to explain and predict health-related behavior, although only a beginning has been made in the development of a systematic explanation of the determinants of behavior. Some of these theories link demographic factors to health-related behavior, but they have not proved as useful in explaining why a person takes or does not take action to prevent and treat illness. This remains a significant challenge for the discipline.