NAICS 62 - Health Care and Social Assistance

The Sector as a Whole

The Health Care and Social Assistance sector comprises establishments providing health care and social assistance for individuals. The sector includes both health care and social assistance because it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the boundaries of these two activities. The industries in this sector are arranged on a continuum starting with establishments providing medical care exclusively, continuing with those providing health care and social assistance, and finally finishing with those providing only social assistance. Establishments in this sector deliver services by trained professionals. All industries in the sector share this commonality of process, namely, labor inputs of health practitioners or social workers with the requisite expertise. Many of the industries in the sector are defined based on the educational degree held by the practitioners included in the industry.

Excluded from this sector are yoga and aerobics instruction in Subsector 611, Educational Services, physical fitness facilities in Subsector 713, Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries, and personal fitness training services and non-medical diet and weight reducing centers in Subsector 812, Personal and Laundry Services. Although these can be viewed as health services, these services are not typically delivered by health practitioners.

• Includes establishments delivering medical care, health care, and social assistance services.
• Services provided by licensed health practitioners and trained social workers.
• Encompasses a continuum from exclusively medical care to purely social assistance.
• Excludes non-practitioner health-related services such as fitness instruction and diet centers.
• Typical contracts range from community health programs to large-scale hospital services.
• Sector defined by educational qualifications of service providers and service scope.

• Providing inpatient and outpatient medical care services.
• Delivering mental health and substance abuse treatment programs.
• Operating nursing and residential care facilities.
• Offering home health care and hospice services.
• Administering social assistance programs for vulnerable populations.
• Conducting health promotion and disease prevention initiatives.
• Providing rehabilitation and physical therapy services.
• Coordinating community-based social support and case management.

• Hospitals and medical centers
• Physician and dental offices
• Nursing care and residential facilities
• Home health care agencies
• Mental health and substance abuse treatment centers
• Social service agencies and community organizations