Health care is a general term referring to the delivery of medical services by specialist providers, such as midwives, doctors, nurses, home health aides, vaccination technicians and physician's assistants. Usually such services are paid for by the patient or the patient's insurance company, although they may be government-financed or delivered by charities or volunteers, particularly in poorer countries.
Health care can form an enormous part of a country's economy. In 2003, health care costs paid to hospitals, doctors, diagnostic laboratories, pharmacies, medical device manufacturers etc., consumed an estimated XX percent of the [[[GNP]] of the United States.
Health care services include preventive care, vaccination, diagnosis, prescribing and administration of medicine, surgery, observation, and attendance at childbirth.