Health Economics

Course Objective: 

 

Health economics is the study of how scarce healthcare resources are allocated among competing interventions and among groups in society. This course introduces basic concepts and practical issues faced by decision makers at all levels in the health system in allocating scarce resources so that the choices they make maximize health benefits to the population.

Course Outcomes:  The students will be able to

1

The key analytical reasoning and tools of health economics and their normative foundations and ethical implications

2

Use economic models to understand behaviors of actors in the health care sector

3

Undertake economic evaluation in healthcare, with an emphasis on identifying, measuring, valuing and analysing health outcomes and costs

4

Understand approaches to identify and value costs and outcomes to include in economic evaluation

5

Make analyses of efficiency and quality of health care organizations

6

Develop competence to apply economic concepts and models to the fields of demand for health, demand for health services, demand for health insurance, provision of health insurance and provision of health care.

7

Develop competence to describe, analyze and critically address economic aspects of health care organizations

8

Understand fundamentals of markets and the price mechanism with a focus on the healthcare market

Course Content:  

 UNIT I

Health Economics I: The state and scope of health economics, Human Capital and health, Health as a Social Indicator, Health dimensions of development: the health and development interdependency,

10 hrs

UNIT II

Health Economics II: the dual Relationship between Health and Economic Status, Determinants of health: Poverty, Malnutrition and Environmental quality, Components of economic appraisal of health programme.

10 hrs

 UNIT III

Costs and Benefits of health services I :Private benefits and costs of providing health services, the failure of the market to provide essential  health services, the provision of health services by the government ,

10 hrs

UNIT IV

Costs and Benefits of health services II : application of cost benefit analysis to  public health and family planning projects, benefits and costs (both private and social ) of training to professional manpower in health sector.

10 hrs

 UNIT V

Valuing Health and health damage I :Human capital approach: measurement of mortality: value of statistical of life, years of life lost; morbidity valuation: cost of illness, Burden of disease: Meaning and significance,

10 hrs

UNIT VI

DALY:  A measure of burden, The DALY framework: Components and postulates, DALY and QALY, the GBD assessment, BD and DALY: A critical appreciation. Health Accounting: National health accounts, from SNA to NHA, Health expenditure efforts.

10 hrs

Internal Assessment: 

 CIA 1

Unit I, Unit II 

 

 CIA 2

Assignment submission and/or presentation 

 

Text Books: 
  1. Anthony J. Cuyler and Joseph P. (ed.) (2000), Handbook of Health Economics,Newhouse North-Holland,Elsevier Science

 Reference Books: 
  1. Clewar, Ann, and David Perkins. 1998. Economics of Health Care Management. London Prentice Hall.
  1. Folland, Sherman, Allen Goodman, and MironStano, 2001. The Economics of Health and Health Care, New York: MacMillan, Third Edition.
  1. Sherman Folland, Allen C.Gkoodman, and MironStano, (2004), The Economics of Health and Health Care, 4th Edition, Prentice Hall.