Health Economics

This short course examines the role of economic principles in understanding the behaviour of users and providers of healthcare, systems of healthcare

financing and resource allocation within health systems. Key issues addressed include:

– the ways in which individuals respond to incentives;

– the advantages and disadvantages of different ways of financing health services;

– the role of cost-effectiveness analysis in determining access to services.

By the end of the course, participants should:

– understand the fundamental principles of supply and demand and how they relate to health and healthcare services;

– appreciate options for financing health services and how different methods affect access to care and performance of care providers;

– describe how the methods of costeffectiveness analysis can be applied to various healthcare interventions.