Health Economics
- Social Sciences
- 700 level
- 2 credit units
- 215 pages
- 11 units
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.
About this course
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Study hours
- 156 hours
- Maths
- Intermediate
- Content
- Theoretical, case study, problem solving
- Practical work
- No
- Assignments
- Tutor Marked Assignments
- Final Examination
What you'll read
The real module and unit structure of ECO725, taken from the course material NOUN publishes.
One paragraph, so you can see how it reads
ECO725 · Unit 1: The Economics of Healthcare
The presentation schedule included in the course material gives you the important dates for the completion of tutor-marking assignments and attending tutorials. You are required to submit all your assignments by due date. You should guard against falling behind in your work.
What you should be able to do
- Understand the fundamental principles of health economics.
- Apply economic theories to analyze healthcare markets and systems.
- Evaluate the efficiency and equity of healthcare financing mechanisms.
- Assess the cost-effectiveness of healthcare interventions.
- Analyze the role of government in healthcare regulation and provision.
What it prepares you for
- Health Economist
- Healthcare Administrator
- Health Policy Analyst
- Public Health Consultant
- Healthcare Finance Manager
- Healthcare Providers
- Government Health Agencies
- Insurance Companies
- Pharmaceutical Companies
- Research Institutions
Where it gets hard
The units students slow down on, and what makes each one heavy.
- MODULE ONE: INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH ECONOMICS
Unit 1: The Economics of Healthcare
The unit requires a strong grasp of fundamental economic principles and their application to the unique context of healthcare, which can be challenging for students without a prior economics background.
- MODULE TWO: THE DEMAND AND SUPPLY OF MEDICAL CARE
Unit 2: The Supply of Physician Services and other Medical Services
This unit involves understanding complex interactions between multiple economic agents and requires applying theoretical models to real-world scenarios, which can be difficult.
- MODULE THREE: COST CONCEPTS, ECONOMIC EVALUATION AND HEALTH FINANCING
Unit 1: Costs Concepts and Economic Evaluation
This unit requires understanding and applying various economic evaluation techniques, including cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, and cost-utility analysis, which involves complex calculations and interpretations.
A suggested way through it
13 weeks, about 52 hours in total. Yours will differ.
- Week 1MODULE ONE: INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH ECONOMICS
Unit 1: The Economics of Healthcare · 4 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 2MODULE ONE: INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH ECONOMICS
Unit 1: The Economics of Healthcare · 2 hours
Continue reading Unit 1.. Review the special characteristics of the market for healthcare.. Reflect on the future challenges to healthcare systems..
- Week 3MODULE ONE: INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH ECONOMICS
Unit 2: The Four Basic Questions · 4 hours
Understand allocative and production efficiency in healthcare.. Differentiate between distributive justice and equity.. Analyze the implications of allocative and distributive questions..
- Week 4MODULE ONE: INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH ECONOMICS
Unit 2: The Four Basic Questions · 2 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 5MODULE ONE: INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH ECONOMICS
Unit 3: The Main Features of Health Care Service and Its Relation with Economic Development · 4 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 6MODULE ONE: INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH ECONOMICS
Unit 4: Health and Medical Care: An Economic Perspective · 4 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 7MODULE TWO: THE DEMAND AND SUPPLY OF MEDICAL CARE
Unit 1: The Demand for Medical Care · 4 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 8MODULE TWO: THE DEMAND AND SUPPLY OF MEDICAL CARE
Unit 2: The Supply of Physician Services and other Medical Services · 4 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 9MODULE TWO: THE DEMAND AND SUPPLY OF MEDICAL CARE
Unit 3: Medical Care Production and Costs · 4 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 10MODULE TWO: THE DEMAND AND SUPPLY OF MEDICAL CARE
Unit 4: Hospital Services and Efficiency · 4 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 11MODULE THREE: COST CONCEPTS, ECONOMIC EVALUATION AND HEALTH FINANCING
Unit 1: Costs Concepts and Economic Evaluation · 6 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 12MODULE THREE: COST CONCEPTS, ECONOMIC EVALUATION AND HEALTH FINANCING
Unit 2: Health Care Financing · 4 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 13MODULE THREE: COST CONCEPTS, ECONOMIC EVALUATION AND HEALTH FINANCING
Unit 3: The Role of Government in Health Care · 6 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..
Preparing for the exam
- Review all Tutor-Marked Assignments (TMAs) and their solutions to reinforce understanding of key concepts.
- Create concept maps linking the economic principles from Modules 1 and 2 to real-world healthcare scenarios.
- Practice cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness calculations from Unit 1 of Module 3 using different hypothetical datasets.
- Focus on understanding the strengths and weaknesses of different healthcare financing models (Unit 2, Module 3).
- Prepare detailed notes on the role of government in healthcare, including specific examples of successful and unsuccessful interventions (Unit 3, Module 3).
- Allocate extra study time to the peak difficulty units identified in the course guide.
- Simulate exam conditions by answering past questions within the time limit.
Questions students ask about this course
What is ECO725 about?
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.
How many units does ECO725 have?
ECO725, Health Economics, has 11 units across 3 modules, over 215 pages of course material. You can read it one unit at a time.
How many credit units is ECO725?
ECO725 carries 2 credit units, at 700 level in Social Sciences.
Is ECO725 hard?
ECO725 is rated intermediate level, with intermediate mathematical content. It is mostly theoretical, case study and problem solving work.
How long does ECO725 take to study?
About 156 hours of study, spread across its 11 units.
How is ECO725 assessed?
ECO725 is assessed by Assignments, Tutor Marked Assignments and Final Examination.
What can I do with ECO725?
Health Economist, Healthcare Administrator, Health Policy Analyst, Public Health Consultant and Healthcare Finance Manager.