The Healthcare Industry

Abstract

Abstract This chapter provides an overview of the development of healthcare as an industry. First, it discusses the nature of the industry and outlines its main characteristics (highly regulated; broad range of actors; fast-growing; high level of technological innovation). Second, it presents the historical evolution of this sector in Western Europe, the US, and Japan, from its formation in the middle of the 19th century, which led to (i) the emergence of hospitals as a crucial actor, (ii) the subsequent creation of health insurance systems, supporting the demand for healthcare, and (iii) increasing government intervention, followed, more recently, by reform attempts driven by neoliberal ideas. It then sketches the spread of this model to countries outside the West and Japan. Overall, the chapter shows that despite hospitals as the dominant organizational form and the international diffusion of technologies, policies and practices, the healthcare industry continues to show significant variations from country to country.