Introduction
The Western healthcare system is a solid interweaving of historical and socio-political factors. Its development has gone through many stages, each of which has added certain essential aspects that have helped to construct a vital structure that helps people today. Slow development in ancient times gradually gave way to modernization and innovation, which ensured rapid progress.
The Western healthcare system is one of the most advanced in providing many people with reliable protection against health problems that may appear. This direction’s development and history changed how people reacted to diseases in different periods. Thus, it is crucial to explore how healthcare mechanisms operate and how they have been shaped.
The Genesis of Western Healthcare
The origins of the Western healthcare system began to manifest itself in ancient civilizations. Medical practices of various directions at that time arose to treat various diseases. As certain diseases demanded a more serious approach, medicine evolved with more sophisticated care tools. Systematic medical knowledge was laid down as the basis of healthcare in Ancient Greece (Xu et al., 2021). Thus, this marked the beginning of the well-functioning medical system today. Hippocrates was an essential person in the birth of Western medicine, who gave great importance to observation, documentation, and clinical examination.
The gradual evolution of the Western healthcare system began to take place due to the need for people to take better care of their health and cope with more complex diseases. Scientific achievements played a significant role in this aspect, making the emergence of new methods of treatment possible. An example of such a development is the discovery of antibiotics, without which it is currently impossible to carry out any surgical operation. During the Renaissance, doctors began to immerse themselves more in anatomy and study the principles by which the human body functions (Bassareo et al., 2020). Thus, this provided a solid basis for researching new human treatment methods.
Rapid Progress in Modern Times
In modern times, the development of medicine has accelerated significantly in all directions, as scientific discoveries make it possible to find and combine new treatment methods. Technological innovations have had a significant impact on the healthcare system and have also contributed to social change. In addition, the invention of antiseptics and anesthesia made a revolutionary leap in the development of surgery, as it allowed for more complex and lengthy operations so patients could survive (Arnold-Forster, 2023).
As mentioned earlier, Fleming’s discovery of antibiotics also made it possible to successfully contain dangerous infectious diseases that previously killed people (Xu et al., 2021). Recently, there has been an increase in the development of specialty fields such as radiology and minimally invasive surgical techniques. They made more accurate and detailed disease targeting possible to eliminate the existing problem.
Control of Infectious Diseases
Western health care has the most outstanding achievement in resisting and controlling rapidly spreading aggressive infections. Their containment is a priority that helps civilization keep the level of employment and the intersection of areas of communication. Today, the containment of infectious diseases is made possible by the planned and gradual development of public health tools and instruments (Eggers, 2019).
Thus, providing various activities allows people to acquire the necessary knowledge regarding dangerous infectious diseases. The long development of methods of influence in the context of mass warning has helped to find better ways to signal danger and save people from potential consequences. Massive vaccination campaigns are vital in combating infectious diseases (Eggers, 2019). They have a significant effect on the creation of herd immunity. This made it possible to eradicate some dangerous diseases, such as polio and smallpox. Thus, it made it possible to protect specific categories of the population at risk or not socially protected enough.
Infectious diseases are under control due to the proper work of different organs. For example, the fight against COVID-19 was an achievement made possible by the total mobilization of all the resources at society’s disposal. In this way, people managed to develop measures to prevent the spread of the disease and, over time, create a vaccine that helped improve people’s ability to survive.
In addition, a remarkable achievement of humanity’s fight against infections lies in developing antiretroviral therapy. This has had a significant impact on people living with HIV and AIDS, allowing them to lead a much more comfortable life (Wang et al., 2021). Modern comprehensive measures to develop strategies against infections and implementing measures are essential pillars of the health system.
Conclusion
The Western health care system is a reliable component of people’s overall well-being by allowing them to make their lives more comfortable. This happened gradually as people developed medicine’s ability through various inventions. They made it possible to prevent and treat many diseases that, at an earlier time, would have been considered fatal to humans. Such advances in health care have made it possible to successfully contain infectious diseases today, which provides people with a fulfilling life. Improving the overall quality of life has allowed everyone to operate more freely in society and increased survival in challenging clinical cases.
References
Arnold-Forster, A. (2023). Self-made myths. Cold, Hard Steel, 27-58. Web.
Bassareo, P. P., Melis, M. R., Marras, S., & Calcaterra, G. (2020). Learning from the past in the COVID-19 era: rediscovery of quarantine, previous pandemics, origin of hospitals and national healthcare systems, and ethics in medicine. Postgraduate Medical Journal, 96(1140), 633-638. Web.
Eggers, M. (2019). Infectious disease management and control with povidone iodine. Infectious Diseases and Therapy, 8, 581-593. Web.
Wang, C., Liu, M., Wang, Z., Li, S., Deng, Y., & He, N. (2021). Point-of-care diagnostics for infectious diseases: From methods to devices. Nano Today, 37. Web.
Xu, L., Sanders, L., Li, K., & Chow, J. C. (2021). Chatbot for health care and oncology applications using artificial intelligence and machine learning: systematic review. JMIR Cancer, 7(4). Web.