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Components of Healthcare

Decent Essays

As the healthcare system has grown and evolved to the entity we know today, it has been developed into a multifaceted being indeed. Though what appears to be our national healthcare system, a unified and aligned system, it really is not. Americans enter and are cared for by various spokes of the wheel that is truly our healthcare system. These Americans hail from all walks of life, Middle-Income America, the unemployed and uninsured, military men and women, as well as, those who have already served, Veterans (Torrens & Williams, 2002). How their healthcare is provided ranges from privately funded, insurance driven care, to care provided for the impoverished by local government, and healthcare provided to the current and retired military …show more content…

The emergency room serves as an important point of entry to healthcare for those who are poor, have no insurance, or governmental coverage as provided to the military and veteran population (Torrens & Williams, 2002). Obviously an important component, it is one that treats the acutely ill and if necessary, acts as a ferry into inpatient treatment that is often needed. Once a patient enters the world of healthcare and their condition at times requires more specialized or intensive care. The component of healthcare is known as tertiary care. Tertiary care includes services provided by highly specialized providers (e.g., neurologists, neuro-surgeons, thoracic surgeons, intensive care units). These services frequently require highly sophisticated equipment and support facilities. The development of these services has stemmed from diagnostic and therapeutic advances attained through basic and clinical biomedical research (Academy Health, 2004). This area of healthcare is necessary to treat illness that may lead to chronic conditions or death. Unfortunately these services are more easily accessed by the insured Middle-America sector. The last two components that only since the end of World War II have been necessary in completing the healthcare circle: Restorative and Continuing care. Restorative care includes home health services, as well as, rehabilitative hospitals. As our population becomes older and scientific

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