intro to health economics

State the fundamental premise of the textbook

Understanding healthcare issues through an economic lens

State the core principle

Identification of scarcity as a ,ajar cause of today’s healthcare problems

Define scarcity

Rewrite but a deviancy in quantity and/or quality of available goods and services compared to the amounts that people desire

State 3 points in the not enough problem

• around 50 million people lack health insurance coverage in the u.s

• Such uninsured individuals have difficulty obtaining adequate care, especially primary care

• Uninsured population serves as a leading indicator (bellwether) of access problems in the u.s

Define bellwether

Leading indicator

Too much problem : state the 2010 healthcare expenditure

Over 2.6 trillion

Too much problem:state the percent of healthcare contribution to tal GNP

7.8 total percent of the dollar sum of all final goods and services provided

Too much problem: compare the GNP of 1965 v 2010

GNP in 1965 was 5.6% v in 2010 which was 7.5%

Too much problem: what does the increase of GNP represent

An increase in healthcares share of the economy

State 3 LARGE examples of potentially unnecessary/questionable services

1) little ticket items

2) high cost procedures

3) terminal care services

Unecessary/questionable services: expand on the little ticket items

• large volume services with questioned impact on health

  • Ex (radiographs like x-rays and lab tests)

• Account for approximately one quarter of all hospital cost

Questionable services: expand on high cost procedures what are they

• Coronary artery bypass grafting

• Transplants

• Costly intensive care services

• New drugs with often undocumented effectiveness

Examples of potentially unnecessary/questionable services: expand on terminal care services

• hospital services for the terminally ill

• Consume a dispaportionare share of the healthcare dollar

Define the flat curve of medicine

Medical care that produces little to no improvement in health

State the significance of the flat of the curve medicine concept

Accusations of too much alongside cries of not enough highlight the importance of studying the entire resource allocation process in healthcare

Define economics

The science that deals with:

• making choices ‘consequences of resource scarcity

Define health economics

Addresses the consequences of resource scarcity specifically in the healthcare industry

State the nature of economics include rather and purpose

NOT a body of rigid doctoring about scarce resources

Rather: offers an overall viewpoint to help understand various types of scarcity problems

Purpose: provides a systemic way of hinting about economic problems

How many areas does the textbook divide economics into ?

3

• descriptive economics

• Explanatory economics

• Evaluative economics

Explain the general framework of this textbook

Formulating problems in the context of scarcity leads to deeper understanding and potential solutions