Healthcare providers encompass organisations and actors that provide healthcare services and medical goods as their primary activity, as well as those for which healthcare provision is a secondary activity.

HP.1 Hospitals

This category encompasses those institutions primarily dedicated to the treatment of hospital inpatients, while not precluding that patient care may take place in certain units of these institutions without the need for the overnight stay of the patient. A distinction is made between general hospitals (HP.1.1), hospitals which are specifically aimed at patients with mental health disorders (HP.1.2) and hospitals which specialise in other kinds of treatments. (HP.1.3).

HP.2 Residential long-term care facilities

These comprise residential establishments engaged in providing residential long-term care that combines nursing, supervisory or other types of care as required by the residents. These medical services are less intensive than those provided in hospitals. Furthermore, personal care and social care services are provided in combination with healthcare in these establishments. In general, to classify residential care facilities as health establishments, more than 50% of expenditure should be healthcare expenditure. If healthcare expenditure is less than 50%, they should be classified in HP.8.2 Secondary providers of healthcare.

HP.3 Providers of ambulatory healthcare

These encompass establishments that treat patients who do not require hospitalisation, including both those establishments providing basic care which are specialised in the treatment of patients without overnight stays, and others dedicated to providing healthcare services at the patient's home.

HP.4 Providers of ancillary services

This category comprises establishments that provide ancillary services directly to outpatients under the supervision of health professionals and not covered within the treatment in hospitals, nursing care facilities and outpatient centres. These services include providers of patient transportation and emergency rescue, medical and diagnostic laboratories, dental laboratories and providers of other services.

These specialised providers may charge patients directly for services rendered or may provide these services as benefits-in-kind.

HP.5 Retailers and other providers of medical products

This section comprises establishments whose primary activity is the retail sale of medical goods for individual consumption or use by the patient at home. It includes establishments that offer, in combination with the direct sale to the public, the fitting or repair of lenses, orthopaedic or prosthetic appliances for individual or household use.

HP.6 Providers of preventive care

This category encompasses institutions responsible for the administration and provision of public health programmes such as health promotion and protection. On the other hand, companies that provide their workers with healthcare services considered as occupational healthcare, and which appear in the category devoted to the rest of the economy, are not included here.

HP.7 Administration of the health system and healthcare financing

This category comprises establishments engaged in regulating the activities of actors directly involved in the provision of healthcare services, and in the administration of the financing of healthcare services, that is, the management of the funds of mandatory and voluntary health insurances. Both healthcare administration in general and health insurance establishments are included in this concept.

It does not include the aforementioned administrative expenses of healthcare providers, as these expenses should be included in the category of the provider who provides the healthcare.

HP. 8 Rest of the economy

This section includes households as providers of healthcare at home. Specifically, the cash transfers to care givers of home care for the sick and disabled are calculated. Unpaid care by household members is not included in the health account.

This category also includes establishments that provide healthcare as a secondary activity, such as companies that provide occupational healthcare services to their employees; providers of social care with occasional health services, etc. In general, establishments in which the provision of healthcare goods and services constitutes a minority share of the output value; and those not classified above.