healthcare industry healthcare industry the healthcare industry (also called the medical industry or health economy) is an aggregation and integration of sectors within the economic system that provides goods and services to treat patients with curative, preventive, rehabilitative, and palliative care. it includes the generation and commercialization of goods and services lending themselves to maintaining and re-establishing health. the modern healthcare industry includes three essential branches which are services, products, and finance, and may be divided into many sectors and categories and depends on the interdisciplinary teams of trained professionals and paraprofessionals to meet the health needs of individuals and populations. an insurance form with pills the healthcare industry is one of the world's largest and fastest-growing industries. consuming over 10 percent of gross domestic product (gdp) of most developed nations, health care can form an enormous part of a country's economy. u.s. healthcare spending grew 2.7 percent in 2021, reaching $4.3 trillion or $12,914 per person. as a share of the nation's gross domestic product, health spending accounted for 18.3 percent. the per capita expenditure on health and pharmaceuticals in oecd countries has steadily grown from a couple of hundred in the 1970s to an average of us$4'000 per year in current purchasing power parities. backgrounds for the purpose of finance and management, the healthcare industry is typically divided into several areas. as a basic framework for defining the sector, the united nations international standard industrial classification (isic) categorizes the healthcare industry as generally consisting of: hospital activities; medical and dental practice activities; "other human health activities". this third class involves activities of or under the supervision of, nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, scientific or diagnostic laboratories, pathology clinics, residential health facilities, or other allied health professions, e.g. in the field of optometry, hydrotherapy, medical massage, yoga therapy, music therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, chiropody, homeopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture, etc. the global industry classification standard and the industry classification benchmark further distinguish the industry as two main groups: healthcare equipment and services; and pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and related life sciences. the healthcare equipment and services group consists of companies and entities that provide medical equipment, medical supplies, and healthcare services, such as hospitals, home healthcare providers, and nursing homes. the latter listed industry group includes companies that produce biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and miscellaneous scientific services. other approaches to defining the scope of the healthcare industry tend to adopt a broader definition, also including other key actions related to health, such as education and training of health professionals, regulation and management of health services delivery, provision of traditional and complementary medicines, and administration of health insurance. providers and professionals