Health and wellness industries present unique challenges when it comes to terminology. While the terms can be intimidating, their meaning is crucial for understanding our services and our work processes. One issue arises in relation to whether “healthcare” and “health care” mean different things or are interchangeable – it may seem minor but their spelling has more of an effect than just house style and personal preference! Choosing to correctly spell these terms may have significant ramifications on company image.
While both healthcare and health care refer to industries providing medical services, their meanings do differ significantly. Healthcare refers to an industry’s activity while health care encompasses professional efforts made by trained personnel to maintain and restore people’s well-being.
The AP Stylebook, a consensus reference for journalists and news outlets, suggests using “healthcare” when used as noun and “health care” when used as adjective. Many organizations opt to use healthcare instead due to it being more recognizable and reflecting how people typically use this term; whatever choice you make it is important that it remains consistent throughout your writing.
As another option, it is also possible to combine and interchange these terms, for instance saying “heart disease is a health care issue” while simultaneously discussing “healthcare solutions.” However, this practice should be avoided since this can create unnecessary confusion for readers unfamiliar with industry vocabulary and terminology.
Choices regarding spelling health care or healthcare is ultimately up to personal preference and consistency, yet understanding the nuances of both terms is crucial for professional communication in health and wellness industries. A qualified language service provider can assist with everything from translation to transcription so you can rest assured your messages are conveying the intended message.