A healthcare provider is a person or a business that prepares health care services to consumers. In other words, your health care providers care for your health. Many health care providers are part of a network of HMO or PPO. These providers will commonly see all patients, but people not participating in the network will be charged more than those that belong to the healthcare network.
Who are Healthcare providers?
Healthcare providers are probably most familiar with your primary care physician. But there are all different kinds of Healthcare Providers. Any type of health care service you might need is provided by some type of health care provider.
Some examples of non-physician health care providers:
1. The physical therapist that helps you to recover from your knee injury.
2. The Home Health Care Company that provides your visiting nurse.
3. The durable medical equipment company that provides your home oxygen or wheelchair.
4. Your pharmacy and the laboratory that draws and processes your blood tests.
5. The imaging facility that does your mammograms, X-rays, and MRI scans.
6. The speech therapist that works with you to make sure you can swallow food safely after a stroke.
7. The outpatient surgery clinic where you had your colonoscopy done.
8. The specialty laboratory that does your DNA test.
9. The urgent care center or walk-in clinic in your neighborhood shopping center.
10. The hospital where you receive suffering (or in some cases, outpatient) care.
Types of Healthcare Providers:
Doctors:
The doctors are an example of primary care providers. A primary care provider is a person you may see first for checkups or health problems and a primary care provider can help manage your overall health issues. A doctor studies for many years and gains immense knowledge’s and experience for a few more years before he or she can actually practice as a normal or common doctor. There are various kinds of doctors. The doctor whom we all refer to a doctor is also called a physician or general practitioner. The patients go to them at the first level for diagnoses and the treatment of colds, flu, and other conditions.
Others doctors called a specialist and have specialized in a field that usually needs more and more studying after fulfilling their normal medicine studies. There is a wide range of specialists like urologists, neurologists, dentists, oncologists, etc.
Nurses:
Nurses are not only in hospitals. There are many well trained and registered nurses in a doctor’s office to take blood from the patients to test blood pressure, blood sugar, draw blood, etc. Nurses work nearly with the patients and their job in the healthcare process is often more important for recovery than the doctors. They take care of patients and are there when things go wrong and stay their sides.
Pharmacists:
Pharmacists have to study for a long time and know a lot about chemicals, medicines and its side effects, and toxins. They are the people who give patients medicines that a doctor prescribed for a specific condition. They can also guide patients on over-the-counter medication to help with certain serious conditions. Pharmacists sometimes help doctors to understand what types of medicine to prescribe together to avoid serious side effects.
Administrative Staff:
Administrative staff works at a doctor’s office or a hospital and is also an important part of the healthcare team. Without their help, things may go very wrong. They handle appointments, payments, health insurance companies, patient files, doctor or specialists, medical reps, etc. They make the doctor’s office or hospital run. They are definitely a valuable part of the team.
Technologists and Technicians:
Before making some diagnosis doctors often need more information about what is going on in the patients’ bodies. To get this information, the doctor may send blood or urine samples for analysis in a lab. The technicians who work in the lab look for all kinds of things in the blood or urine to help doctors to make a diagnosis.
Therapists:
Therapists are also specialists, but their work is different from other doctors. They help patients to recover from illness or injury through working on physical work like physical exercise plan, speech, moments, coordination, etc.
It should be clear that healthcare providers come in all shapes that each of them has a very important and necessary part of the healthcare process. So, next time if you need to visit a doctor or specialist, think about all the people who are involved with them and helping you get better and healthy again.
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