Health support services provide care that addresses both emotional and physical needs for people. This may include everything from counseling and therapy sessions, in-home care assistance and personal hygiene duties. A health support worker must possess exceptional teamwork abilities and have excellent communication abilities in order to be effective.
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Health and Human Services (HHS)
HHS provides numerous programs and services designed to promote individual and community health, such as public health infrastructure, medical research, social welfare programs and disaster planning. Their 11 operating divisions administer over 100 programs; additionally they have tools available for managing health insurance policies.
Human services professionals protect vulnerable populations from poverty, hunger, housing instability, abuse and other harmful circumstances. Their work can have a substantial effect on global health as defined by the World Health Organization; some studies even indicate it might even outshone traditional medical services alone. Strong organizational and time management skills as well as knowledge of policies, guidelines and ethical standards are required; an ability to work effectively with various populations would be an added asset.
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
NIH leads the scientific enterprise and pioneers discoveries that advance health and save lives, through cultivating world-class scientists and creating new scientific fields and tools that advance science as a discipline.
The National Institutes of Health budget provides funds for extramural and intramural research at universities, hospitals, and private research organizations; additionally the NIH conducts its own research and training at its facilities.
NIH is led by its Office of the Director and 27 Institutes and Centers (ICs), each dedicated to biomedical and public health research in various fields. Congress provides direction by setting research priorities in both Appropriations Report Language and legislation; additionally, internal processes exist within NIH for prioritizing projects through consultations between its ICs, scientific experts, patients and their representatives.
American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) is the national medical society representing family physicians. With 130,000 members across the U.S. and internationally providing care to patients of all ages, AAFP’s major functions are to advocate high standards for family medicine practice; establish policy relevant to family medicine; advocate for advocacy, representation, leadership; ensure sufficient well-trained family physicians are available; as well as cultivating trust between physician-patient relationships.
AAFP provides its members with numerous health support resources designed to allow them to spend more time with their patients, such as tools to reduce administrative complexity and provide simplified billing, coding and payment systems. In addition, AAFP also offers CME seminars as well as providing an environment where family physicians can share knowledge.
National Library of Medicine (NLM)
Health professionals need reliable sources for information to assist them with making treatment decisions, conducting research studies or learning the fundamentals of medicine. The National Library of Medicine (NLM) offers these professionals the resources necessary for doing their jobs successfully.
NLM manages databases, curates vocabularies, and produces tools to facilitate sharing data from clinical research – such as the Common Data Element repository which promotes standard questions and fields across NIH-funded studies – making it easier for scientists to analyze and interpret results of their work in order to enhance patient outcomes.
NLM provides outreach efforts through partnerships with physician and health professional organizations as well as its Prescription Pad Program in libraries to direct patients towards reliable health information sources. Furthermore, conferences are held to increase public awareness of its information and services provided by NLM.
School Physicians
School-based clinics not only provide access to health care, but they also help kids stay in school by reducing missed days. Ensuring children remain healthy increases their likelihood of academic success.
School nurses, nurse practitioners, dentists, physician assistants and health educators collaborate to offer preventive healthcare services such as flu shots, dental screenings and vision/hearing exams. Furthermore, qualified professionals also provide acute and emergency care including treating illnesses or injuries and providing first aid treatment.
Some districts utilize physicians directly as administrators of school health programs and nursing staff. When this occurs, their role must be clearly articulated within a written agreement that takes into account any state laws regarding indemnification and liability issues. School physicians can also help develop policies and practices to support coordinated school health teams.
