Differences Between Preventive and Curative Healthcare

As we care more about our health and wellness, we often face various types of terms in the medical world that we may not be aware of. It can be unfamiliar and this could affect your decision-making process. Preventive and curative healthcare are two types of healthcare and commonly used terms in the medical and healthcare industries.

The question is, do you know the difference between preventive and curative healthcare and how they can help you sustain a healthier lifestyle?

Since both preventive and curative healthcare services play a vital role, let’s take a look at their differences.

PREVENTIVE HEALTHCARE

  • Aimed towards preventing medical conditions, or detecting them before they become serious. Flu shots, immunisations, certain screening tests and so on.
  • It reduces any additional risk factors and if you are diagnosed with a condition, you can catch it early on and minimise the effects.

Preventive care is the first step towards your health which is to address a problem before it arises. Here are a few examples of preventive care:

  • REGULAR SCREENINGS
    Some screenings can diagnose a number of diseases, some of which can be very serious. For example, regular breast examinations or mammograms for breast cancer, and blood screenings may diagnose cancer at the earliest. These diseases can be diagnosed at the early stages before their rapid growth.
  • SHOTS AND VACCINATIONS
    Some shots and vaccination are important forms of preventive care, which strengthen your immune system and prevent diseases.
  • WELLNESS PROGRAMS
    Wellness programs fall under preventive care. There are many options such as nutrition sessions, yoga, Zumba, mental health counseling and more. All of these are aimed at preventing chronic illnesses from taking place and upholding a healthy and active lifestyle.
  • REGULAR TESTS
    It is crucial to regularly check on blood sugar or diabetes, cholesterol, high blood pressure, etc. You can treat them better if you catch and diagnose them sooner rather than later. Regular tests help with catching diseases at an earlier stage.

CURATIVE HEALTHCARE

Curative healthcare is the opposite of preventive healthcare.

  • It mainly focuses on curing a disease or promoting recovery from an injury or illness.
  • The intent is to completely resolve any illness and help the patient to be back to the form prior to the illness.
  • For example, if a person is diagnosed with breast cancer, she goes in for curative care with the aim of removing any sign of cancer and returning to the health she was in before the diagnosis of cancer.

Examples of curative healthcare include:

  • CHEMOTHERAPY OR RADIATION
    The use of chemotherapy and radiation helps treat and control the spread of cancer.
  • DIALYSIS
    In cases of damaged kidney function, dialysis is used to remove waste products and excess fluid from the blood.
  • SURGERY
    It is needed if there is an issue like appendicitis or heart disease, then surgery is the chosen option.
  • MEDICATION
    Medication is one of the most common and frequently used forms of curative care in healthcare. Medical professionals prescribe medication to treat diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, anxiety, nerve diseases, and much more.

Top 4 Differences Between Preventive and Curative Healthcare

#1 Intention

The primary difference lies in their aim.

Preventive healthcare is a practical approach with an aim of dealing with any conditions before one is required to visit an emergency room or until an illness progresses past the point of effective treatment. While a curative cure is to control or treat a condition.

#2 Method

It is important to note the approach of the two healthcare systems.

For preventive healthcare, health is a positive, holistic notion that needs to be maintained and improved. It focuses on the overall quality of life and health. Curative medicine focuses on removing the disease which is the hindrance to good health.

#3 Cost

Spending on healthcare can be costly. The expenses will vary based on your health condition.

With curative healthcare, procedures such as radiation and chemotherapy could make a high expense. Through preventive healthcare one can expect a massive outflow by warding off dangerous chronic illnesses.

#4 Period of Treatment

The duration taken for treating any illnesses is another aspect to take into consideration.

With preventive care, it focuses on prevention rather than treatment. When we schedule regular screenings, tests, vaccines and so on, we know that we can prevent illnesses before they turn critical. Thus, time spent on preventive care is less. Curative care depends on the condition, we may spend months, years, or sometimes our entire lifetime on treatment.