A
Health system, also sometimes referred to as
health care system or as
healthcare system, is the organization of people, institutions, and resources that deliver
health care services to meet the
health needs of target populations.There is a wide variety of
health systems around the world, with as many histories and organizational structures as there are nations. Implicitly, nations must design and develop
health systems in accordance with their needs and resources, although common elements in virtually all
health systems are primary
healthcare and
public health measures. In some countries,
health system planning is distributed among market participants. In others, there is a concerted effort among governments,
trade unions, charities, religious organizations, or other co-ordinated bodies to deliver planned
health care services targeted to the populations they serve. However,
health care planning has been described as often evolutionary rather than revolutionary. As with other social institutional structures,
health systems are likely to reflect the history, culture and
economics of the states in which they evolve. These peculiarities bedevil and complicate international comparisons and preclude any universal standard of performance.
Relevant Topics in Medical Sciences