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ECO725Social Sciences2 Unitsintermediate

Health Economics

This course introduces students to the fundamental principles of health economics. It explores the application of economic theories to the health sector, covering topics such as healthcare markets, demand and supply of medical care, cost concepts, and economic evaluation. The course also examines healthcare financing mechanisms and the role of government in ensuring efficient and equitable healthcare delivery, with a focus on sustainable development.

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156h

Study Time

13

Weeks

12h

Per Week

intermediate

Math Level

Course Keywords

Health EconomicsHealthcare MarketEconomic EvaluationHealth FinancingMedical Care

Course Overview

Everything you need to know about this course

Course Difficulty

Intermediate Level

Builds on foundational knowledge

65%

intermediate

📊

Math Level

Moderate Math

📖

Learning Type

Theoretical Focus

Course Topics

Key areas covered in this course

1

Healthcare Markets

2

Demand and Supply of Medical Care

3

Cost Concepts

4

Economic Evaluation

5

Healthcare Financing

6

Role of Government in Health Care

Total Topics6 topics

Ready to Start

No specific requirements needed

This course is designed to be accessible to all students. You can start immediately without any prior knowledge or specific preparation.

Assessment Methods

How your progress will be evaluated (3 methods)

Assignments

Comprehensive evaluation of course material understanding

Written Assessment

Tutor-Marked Assignments

Comprehensive evaluation of course material understanding

Written Assessment

Final Examination

Comprehensive evaluation of course material understanding

Written Assessment

Career Opportunities

Explore the career paths this course opens up for you

Health Economist

Apply your skills in this growing field

Healthcare Administrator

Apply your skills in this growing field

Health Policy Analyst

Apply your skills in this growing field

Public Health Consultant

Apply your skills in this growing field

Healthcare Finance Manager

Apply your skills in this growing field

Industry Applications

Real-world sectors where you can apply your knowledge

Healthcare ProvidersGovernment Health AgenciesInsurance CompaniesPharmaceutical CompaniesResearch Institutions

Study Schedule Beta

A structured 13-week journey through the course content

Week

1

MODULE ONE: INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH ECONOMICS

4h

Unit 1: The Economics of Healthcare

4 study hours

•Read the introduction to health economics.
•Understand the definition of health economics.
•Identify the main characteristics of the healthcare market.
•Discuss various problems of the health sector.

Week

2

MODULE ONE: INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH ECONOMICS

2h

Unit 1: The Economics of Healthcare

2 study hours

•Continue reading Unit 1.
•Review the special characteristics of the market for healthcare.
•Reflect on the future challenges to healthcare systems.

Week

3

MODULE ONE: INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH ECONOMICS

4h

Unit 2: The Four Basic Questions

4 study hours

•Understand allocative and production efficiency in healthcare.
•Differentiate between distributive justice and equity.
•Analyze the implications of allocative and distributive questions.

Week

4

MODULE ONE: INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH ECONOMICS

2h

Unit 2: The Four Basic Questions

2 study hours

•Continue reading Unit 2.
•Discuss different distribution policies and their efficiency and equity implications.
•Understand the implications of the ways society chooses to answer allocative and distributive questions.

Week

5

MODULE ONE: INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH ECONOMICS

4h

Unit 3: The Main Features of Health Care Service and Its Relation with Economic Development

4 study hours

•Understand health as a social sector with economic implications.
•Understand the specific nature of healthcare service.
•Know the implications of economic development to healthcare services.

Week

6

MODULE ONE: INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH ECONOMICS

4h

Unit 4: Health and Medical Care: An Economic Perspective

4 study hours

•Understand the effect of economic factors on health status.
•Identify ways to improve the health system for economic development.
•Understand utility analysis in healthcare services.
•Define medical care from an economic perspective.

Week

7

MODULE TWO: THE DEMAND AND SUPPLY OF MEDICAL CARE

4h

Unit 1: The Demand for Medical Care

4 study hours

•Understand the utility-maximizing rule.
•Analyze the demand for medical care services.
•Understand the concept of elasticity of demand for medical care services.

Week

8

MODULE TWO: THE DEMAND AND SUPPLY OF MEDICAL CARE

4h

Unit 2: The Supply of Physician Services and other Medical Services

4 study hours

•Analyze inputs into the production of health care.
•Understand the short-run production analysis of healthcare services.
•Understand the elasticity of the long-run production analysis of healthcare services.

Week

9

MODULE TWO: THE DEMAND AND SUPPLY OF MEDICAL CARE

4h

Unit 3: Medical Care Production and Costs

4 study hours

•Understand the short-run production and costs analysis.
•Understand the long-run production and costs analysis.
•Understand technical and economic efficient concepts.
•Analyze marginal and average concepts in decision-making in healthcare.

Week

10

MODULE TWO: THE DEMAND AND SUPPLY OF MEDICAL CARE

4h

Unit 4: Hospital Services and Efficiency

4 study hours

•Understand the idea of a hospital as a productive unit.
•Measure and compare hospital efficiency.
•Understand Willingness and Ability to Pay and Access to Health Care.

Week

11

MODULE THREE: COST CONCEPTS, ECONOMIC EVALUATION AND HEALTH FINANCING

6h

Unit 1: Costs Concepts and Economic Evaluation

6 study hours

•Understand the meaning and basis of cost as a concept.
•Be aware of the possibility of using cost concepts to undertake economic evaluation.
•Revisit the conceptual meaning of opportunity costs.
•Describe direct, indirect, and intangible costs.

Week

12

MODULE THREE: COST CONCEPTS, ECONOMIC EVALUATION AND HEALTH FINANCING

4h

Unit 2: Health Care Financing

4 study hours

•Identify the factors that influence the choice of a financing system.
•Explore the different sources of financing in the health service sector.
•Understand the strong and weak points of different financing mechanisms.

Week

13

MODULE THREE: COST CONCEPTS, ECONOMIC EVALUATION AND HEALTH FINANCING

6h

Unit 3: The Role of Government in Health Care

6 study hours

•Understand the role of government as affecting the resource allocation pattern in health.
•Analyze possible measures to alleviate health problems in developing countries.
•Appreciate the problems of health policy in developing countries.

This study schedule is in beta and may not be accurate. Please use it as a guide and consult the course outline for the most accurate information.

Course PDF Material

Read the complete course material as provided by NOUN.

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Study Tips & Exam Preparation

Expert tips to help you succeed in this course

1

Review all Tutor-Marked Assignments (TMAs) and their solutions to reinforce understanding of key concepts.

2

Create concept maps linking the economic principles from Modules 1 and 2 to real-world healthcare scenarios.

3

Practice cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness calculations from Unit 1 of Module 3 using different hypothetical datasets.

4

Focus on understanding the strengths and weaknesses of different healthcare financing models (Unit 2, Module 3).

5

Prepare detailed notes on the role of government in healthcare, including specific examples of successful and unsuccessful interventions (Unit 3, Module 3).

6

Allocate extra study time to the peak difficulty units identified in the course guide.

7

Simulate exam conditions by answering past questions within the time limit.

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