Healthcare industry

The healthcare industry (also known as the medical industry or the health economy) is an aggregation and integration of sectors within the economic system that provide goods and services to treat patients with curative, preventive, rehabilitative, and palliative care. It is comprised of hospitals, clinics, and other health-related facilities. Aspects of it include the development and marketing of items and services that are geared toward the preservation and restoration of good health. Today's healthcare industry includes three essential branches: services, products, and finance. These branches can be further subdivided into numerous sectors and categories, and it is dependent on interdisciplinary teams of trained professionals and paraprofessionals to effectively meet the health needs of individuals and populations in today's society.^[1]

Medical technology is one of the world's biggest and fastest-growing businesses, accounting for around 10% of global GDP in 2012. Health care may account for as much as ten percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in most industrialised countries, making it a significant contributor to a country's overall economic output. 2019 saw a 4.6 percent increase in total health-care expenditure in the United States, hitting $3.8 trillion or $11,582 per person. Overall, health-care expenditure accounted for 17.7 percent of the nation's Gross Domestic Product.^[2]

Those working in this third category include activities performed by or under the supervision of nurses and midwives, physiotherapists, scientific or diagnostic laboratories, pathology clinics, residential health facilities, or other allied health professions such as optometry, hydrotherapy, medical massage, yoga, music therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, chiropody, homoeopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture, and other allied health professions, for example.^[3]

The healthcare equipment and services category is comprised of firms and institutions that supply medical equipment, medical supplies, and healthcare services, such as hospitals, home healthcare providers, and nursing homes, among other things.. Among the enterprises in the latter industrial category are those engaged in the production of biotechnology, medicines, and other scientific services.

The scope of the healthcare industry is defined differently by other approaches, which tend to include additional key actions related to health, such as the education and training of health professionals, the regulation and management of health services delivery, the provision of traditional and complementary medicines, and the administration of health insurance, among others.

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