What+is+medical+care?

=**__Wh__****__at Exactly is Medical Care__**= Medical care is the professional treatment for illness or injury. This includes the use of both goods (ex. medicines) and services (ex. physical therapy) in treatment. Although, services are more prevalent when talking about medical care. There are four distinguishing factors seperating a service from a good. The characteristics of a service consist of intangibility, inseparability, inventory, and inconsistency. Intangibility means that it cannot be assessed by the five senses. It is something the consumer cannot actually see or feel and is often very hard to measure. Inseparability means that production and consumption of a medical service happen at the same time. For example, going to the dentist involves the dentist producing the care and you consuming it at the same time. Inventory, or lack there of, concerns the fact that there is no inventory when production and consumption occur at the same time. Medical services cannot be stockpiled. Lastly, inconsistency means that the manner and quality of medical services consumed are different for each case. A physician can see patients for many different ailments and the services will not be the same. Also many different physicians may see patients with the same illness and the care and/or treatment may be similar but not the same.

**__Another Way to View Medical Care__**
Medical care does not only deal with having to treat illness or injury, it is also used to maintain a healthy lifestyle. For example medical care may be used in setting a broken arm, or cleaning teeth during a dentist visit (maintenance). Keep in mind not only is physical health a part of the treatment of medical care, but so is mental health. A visit to a psychiatrist is considered a form of medical care. It is hard to measure the exact value of medical care given because it varies so much, and is basically inconsistent. As mentioned previously, no two doctors are the same and many different treatments are usually available for just one affliction. To reiterate the previous statement, medical care differs in structural quality, process quality, and outcome quality. In order to attempt to measure medical care researchers use the availabilty of the care and how often the care is used.

**__More Examples of Medical Care__**
Medical care is such a widespread topic and varies so much that the examples for medical care are endless. Visiting a doctor's office for a physical is one such example. Another may include being treated by the school nurse for a bloody nose. Most college students can all relate to getting some sort of an illness and heading to the health center. The treatment provided by doctors and nurses there is another form of health care. As mentioned above, mental health is also treated so counseling would also be a form of medical care. Physical therapy, vaccinations, setting a broken arm, pulling wisdom teeth, adminstering a MRI, and countless other activities that are involved in helping to maintain a healthy lifestyle are all considered medical care.

What are the four factors of medical care that distinguish a service from a good? A) inventory, inconsistency, intangibility, intimacy B) intangibility, inseparability, inventory, and inconsistency C) consistency, tangibility, inventory, separability D) inseparability, inventory, agency, tangibility Ans: B
 * __Questions__**

What are two reasons why medical care is difficult to measure? A) not all products of medical care are tangible B) quality of medical care varies C) both A and B D) None of the Above Ans: C

What are three ways in which the quality of medical care differs? A) structural quality, process quality, and outcome quality B) process quality, inpatient quality, outcome quality C) functional quality, process quality, structural quality D) structural quality, systems quality, outcome quality Ans: A

What is an example of medical care? A) riding a bike B) helping a student with homework C) smoking cessation classes D) all of the above Ans: C

Medical care only deals with the helping to maintain physical health, true or false? ans: False, medical care also deals with maintaing mental health.

When considering statistics for medical care which one of the following activities is not considered? A) a dentist visit for a checkup B) counseling session with a psychiatrist C) a doctor setting a broken arm D) Mom putting a band aid on a scraped knee ans: D, only professional treatment is considered

medical care. (n.d.). //WordNet® 2.1//. Retrieved February 07, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/medical care Santerre, R., & Neun, S. (2007). //Health economics//.Mason: Thomson South-Western. Donabedian, A (1988).The Quality of Care: How Can It Be Assessed?. //Journal of the American Medical Associaiton//. //260//, 1743-48. Donabedian, A (1980). The Definition of Quality and Approaches to Its Assessment. //Health Administration Press.//