HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS 2
Healthcare Systems
Healthcare systems refer to the interdependence and organization of institutions, people,
organization structures and resources in a bid to provide quality healthcare services for a target
population. Healthcare systems are relied upon by the community for medical and public health
services which they are expected to deliver with equity, responsiveness, and respect for dignity
to the population/target society. Notably, healthcare systems differ from one nation/country to
another based on the number of resources available, level of expertise of healthcare providers,
infrastructure, and the population’s medical needs. For this reason, each country is tasked with
the responsibility of designing and implementing a Health Care system that is effective for their
society (West's Encyclopedia of American Law,, 2008). Healthcare systems can be divided into
two distinct forms, National Health Care and International Health Care.
National healthcare refers to the unique practices and policies enacted within the confines
of a country to facilitate quality healthcare services to the population. Such policies and practices
may involve rolling out of health insurance to the citizens and lowering the cost of healthcare.
Similarly, national health care entails all stakeholders involved in the provision of healthcare
services both in private and in the public sector. Besides national healthcare may include; disease
control, biomedical research, training of health care practitioner’s improvement of healthcare
infrastructure and delivery- system reforms. International healthcare, on the other hand, involves
health practices that are generally similar and are critical to human life across all nations.
International health care also includes set minimum standards of healthcare care that each
country should provide its citizens (Stephen Morrissey, Ph.D., David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P.,
Robin Osborn, M.B.A., Gregory D. Curfman, M.D., et al., 2015). International Healthcare is
overseen by internationally recognized Agencies accepted by countries worldwide such as the
