Editing Medicine (section)

=== Delivery ===
{{See also|Health care|clinic|hospital|hospice}}

Provision of medical care is classified into primary, secondary, and tertiary care categories.<ref>{{cite web |title=Primary, Secondary and Tertiary HealthCare – Arthapedia |url=http://www.arthapedia.in/index.php%3Ftitle%3DPrimary,_Secondary_and_Tertiary_HealthCare |website=www.arthapedia.in |access-date=19 January 2021 |archive-date=28 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128011946/http://www.arthapedia.in/index.php%3Ftitle=Primary,_Secondary_and_Tertiary_HealthCare |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Nurses at Butawin Urban Clinic, PNG (10711159465).jpg|thumb|alt=photograph of three nurses|Nurses in [[Kokopo]], [[East New Britain]], [[Papua New Guinea]]|upright]]
[[Primary care]] medical services are provided by [[physician]]s, [[physician assistant]]s, [[nurse practitioner]]s, or other health professionals who have first contact with a patient seeking medical treatment or care.<ref>{{cite web |title=Types of health care providers: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia |url=https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001933.htm |website=medlineplus.gov |access-date=19 January 2021 |language=en |archive-date=23 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123051332/https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001933.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> These occur in physician offices, [[clinic]]s, [[nursing home]]s, schools, home visits, and other places close to patients. About 90% of medical visits can be treated by the primary care provider. These include treatment of acute and chronic illnesses, [[preventive care]] and [[health education]] for all ages and both sexes.

[[Secondary care]] medical services are provided by [[medical specialist]]s in their offices or clinics or at local community hospitals for a patient referred by a primary care provider who first diagnosed or treated the patient.<ref>{{cite web |title=Secondary Health Care |url=https://internationalmedicalcorps.org.uk/what-we-do/all-emergencies/secondary-health-care#:~:text=Secondary%20Health%20Care%20is%20the,most%20often%20provided%20in%20hospitals. |website=International Medical Corps |access-date=19 January 2021 |language=en |archive-date=17 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117030041/https://internationalmedicalcorps.org.uk/what-we-do/all-emergencies/secondary-health-care#:~:text=Secondary%20Health%20Care%20is%20the,most%20often%20provided%20in%20hospitals. |url-status=live }}</ref> Referrals are made for those patients who required the expertise or procedures performed by specialists. These include both [[ambulatory care]] and [[inpatient]] services, [[emergency department]]s, [[intensive care medicine]], surgery services, [[physical therapy]], [[childbirth|labor and delivery]], [[endoscopy]] units, diagnostic laboratory and medical imaging services, [[Hospice care|hospice]] centers, etc. Some primary care providers may also take care of hospitalized patients and deliver babies in a secondary care setting.

[[Tertiary care]] medical services are provided by specialist hospitals or regional centers equipped with diagnostic and treatment facilities not generally available at local hospitals. These include [[trauma center]]s, [[burn (injury)|burn]] treatment centers, advanced [[neonatology]] unit services, [[organ transplant]]s, high-risk pregnancy, [[radiation therapy|radiation]] [[oncology]], etc.

Modern medical care also depends on information – still delivered in many health care settings on paper records, but increasingly nowadays by [[Electronic health record|electronic means]].

In low-income countries, modern healthcare is often too expensive for the average person. International healthcare policy researchers have advocated that "user fees" be removed in these areas to ensure access, although even after removal, significant costs and barriers remain.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Laokri S, Weil O, Drabo KM, Dembelé SM, Kafando B, Dujardin B | title = Removal of user fees no guarantee of universal health coverage: observations from Burkina Faso | journal = Bulletin of the World Health Organization | volume = 91 | issue = 4 | pages = 277–282 | date = April 2013 | pmid = 23599551 | pmc = 3629451 | doi = 10.2471/BLT.12.110015 }}</ref>

[[Separation of prescribing and dispensing]] is a practice in medicine and pharmacy in which the physician who provides a [[medical prescription]] is independent from the [[pharmacist]] who provides the [[prescription drug]]. In the Western world there are centuries of tradition for separating pharmacists from physicians. In Asian countries, it is traditional for physicians to also provide drugs.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Chou YJ, Yip WC, Lee CH, Huang N, Sun YP, Chang HJ | title = Impact of separating drug prescribing and dispensing on provider behaviour: Taiwan's experience | journal = Health Policy and Planning | volume = 18 | issue = 3 | pages = 316–329 | date = September 2003 | pmid = 12917273 | doi = 10.1093/heapol/czg038 | doi-access = free }}</ref>