As healthcare continues to progress, debate over its proper usage continues. With “healthcare” now encompassing an industry and its providers more broadly than ever before, this issue goes far beyond being personal preferences or just house style choices.
Searches of Merriam-Webster online dictionary reveal no consensus as to whether “healthcare” should be one word or hyphenated; while the AP Stylebook suggests this option; Microsoft Word spell check accepts both forms without any red underlining or rejection.
As to make matters even more perplexing, many of the terms we use to refer to healthcare services don’t adhere to medical terminology but rather on concepts of wellness and community health. While both approaches have their benefits, their approaches and scope differ considerably – as demonstrated by one clinic in Houston’s northwest that decided not to prescribe asthma medications but instead worked closely with parents in identifying and eliminating their child’s triggers of illness.
At BIG Language, we find the easiest way to distinguish these concepts is by using terms such as “healthcare” and “health services.” While others may prefer combining everything into a single term, doing so would compromise its nuanced nature as language shifts toward reflecting a holistic perspective of human health and well-being. If you would like more information about our professional translation, localization, and interpretation services helping the healthcare industry, contact us now!