Everyone needs some form of health care at times of illness or injury. An educated health care consumer will understand how to communicate and share in decision making with their health care provider. All physicians practice conventional western medicine that is based on Choose...herbs and acupuncture surgery and chemotherapy laboratory tests science and clinical trials . Alternative medicine practitioners include chiropractic, osteopathic, homeopathic, and naturopathic doctors. If you are sick and need to consult a physician, she will first make a Choose...diagnosishospital visit laboratory tests family history before recommending treatment. If an illness is serious, a person may have to be admitted to a Choose...hospice hospitalsurgery clinic for tests and treatment. Many people have some form of health insurance. An organization of physicians, hospitals, and support staff that provide medical services is called a Choose...an insurance company a clinic a health maintenance organization managed care . The federal government also provides health insurance primarily for Choose...non-citizens people out of work people over age 65 college students under programs called Medicare and Medicaid. Health care costs have risen dramatically in the United States in recent years and continue to rise every year. The US spends about Choose...5%10%15%20% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on health care which is more than Choose...double three times four times five times the amount spent by Japan, Great Britain, or any other industrialized country. One of the factors contributing to the high cost is the number of surgeries performed in the US each year. For example, the US leads the world In a very expensive medical procedure called Choose...cancer operations organ and bone marrow transplants brain surgery plastic surgery . Also, the overuse of Choose...ultrasound scanning kidney dialysis magnetic resonance imaging acupuncture machines contributes to higher health care costs for everyone. Even though the quality of medical care in the US is generally extremely high, more than Choose...50,000100,000200,000500,000 Americans die each year from medical, drug, and hospital errors in carrying out treatments.