Healthcare is the general expression used for the entire sphere of prevention, intervention and cure of sickness and disease using the services of medical experts and resources. Nevertheless, The World Health Organization believes the meaning should also incorporate all associated industries and be a service available to everyone irrespective of who they, which means individuals as well as whole groups of people. Jointly, this provision of medical facilities would be known as a healthcare system.

The term health care has not always been used though and prior to this is it was often just referred to medicine or the health sector but this was used more by English speaking nations. In most developed countries and many developing nations healthcare is provided to everyone regardless of their ability to pay. It was the UK that pioneered the first population based health care system back in 1948 called The National Health Service run by each consecutive government.

Instead a system of compulsory administration funded health insurance with nominal fees can be provided, as with Italy, which, according to The World Health Organization, has the second-best health system in the world. Canada and Australia have both started similar systems and have been running since almost twenty and the 1970’s respectively both going by the name of Medicare. These systems are almost opposite to the systems currently provided in American and South Africa although there are huge changes taking place in the system used by South Africa. healthcare professionals are dedicated to preventing sickness and disease mainly, but also to treat and protect the long term health of their patients.

The health care industry is one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing industries generally going through at least ten percent of gross domestic product of most developed countries, health care can form an enormous part of a country’s economy. The USA has seen some of the largest rises and the figures in 2006 are expected to be the same as 2003 with over 15 percent of GDP – it is currently the largest in the world but the increase by 2016 is expected to be almost twenty percent.

In The USA there are 180 million Americans who want health care and a recent study showed that it was the number one worry of those seeking work. The costs of healthcare in The United States have risen so much that General Motors had considered filing bankruptcy due to the increasing health care costs dragging down its auto manufacturing division. Luckily it didn’t happen after some concessions and compromises made with the unions but it does show how something like this can have an outcome on even the largest of companies.

Workers in The United States place this as their number one priority when looking for a prospective employer and often will move to a lower paid position just to improve their medical care. Possibly it is time health care was looked at in a different way and perhaps called health preservation with an accent on fitness and health to ease the need for a top heavy health care system which is becoming a international issue.