Stakeholders in healthcare are individuals or organizations that have an interest in decisions made in the healthcare industry and its subsidiaries, including health promotion organizations and health and social care. They are integrally involved in the healthcare system and would be substantially affected by reforms to the system. The major stakeholders in the healthcare system include:

• Patients: Patients are the recipients of medical care and make decisions in consultation with their doctors. They are the most important stakeholders in healthcare.

• Physicians and Medical Groups: Physicians are the providers of medical care and directly make and strongly influence medical decisions for their patients. Medical groups often act in concert to provide improved patient outcomes and share learnings across the practice.

• Employers: Many employers offer health insurance coverage with varying deductibles and co-pays for their employees.

• Insurance Companies (Payors): Insurance companies sell health coverage plans directly to patients or indirectly through employer or governmental intermediaries. They are another strong influence in the healthcare decision-making process.

• Pharmaceutical Firms: Pharmaceutical firms develop and market medications which are prescribed by doctors to treat patients.

• Government: Government subsidizes healthcare for the elderly, the disabled, and the poor.

• Policymakers: Policymakers are responsible for creating and implementing healthcare policies.

• Clinical Practice Setting Bodies: Large clinical practice setting bodies, such as the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, serve to provide collective best practices among healthcare providers.

• Regulatory Bodies: Regulatory bodies set standards for how drugs and medical devices should behave and what.

• Communities: Communities have a vested interest in planned changes and proposals within the healthcare sector.

All stakeholders have duties and responsibilities, and their support is vital as they provide funding, support, strategic direction, solutions, and more to the overall healthcare industry. Identifying stakeholders who can affect a healthcare project at an early stage is important so that these relationships can be developed. Stakeholder analysis is a dynamic process and should be undertaken at the beginning of a project and revisited as the project evolves[[5]](https://www.med.unc.edu/ihqi/resources/stakeholder-analys...