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Health Economics and Outcome Research


Health Economics and Outcome Research

Health Economics and Outcome Research is a peer-reviewed journal with an international reputation. There is a wide range of topics covered in this peer-reviewed journal. Authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts as research articles, review articles, case studies, short communications, and commentaries since the journal supports all major research formats.

Preamble


  • In recent years, health economics has become an increasingly important field.

  • Initially, developed and developing countries differ on a number of issues but these differences fade over time

  • As its scope has expanded, it now includes both macro regulation and individual behavior, as well as microeconomics in healthcare systems design

  • There has been an increase in research on equity issues


Human, material, and financial resources, as well as alternative uses of resources in the health services sector, are the focus of health economics. In order to manage health institutions and delivery systems efficiently, every health worker should be familiar with the basic concepts of economics. As a way of satisfying one's unlimited wants, people allocate their limited resources according to economic theories. Therefore, economics is the study of how people make decisions. Also, it involves the study of scarcity and choice, thereby assisting in determining how to utilize scarce or limited resources.


No single definition of health exists, but it encompasses a wide range of physical, mental, and social characteristics. It is difficult to formulate an operational definition for this concept due to the breadth of these characteristics and their essentially subjective nature.


The objectives of health economic research are as follows: a) assessing the relative value of alternative therapies and b) improving patient health through informed decision-making.


The Different Branches of Economics


A Macroeconomic Perspective vs a Microeconomic Perspective


Economics is divided into macroeconomics, which studies the functioning of the economy as a whole, and microeconomics, which studies the behavior of individual elements such as firms, industries, and households.


The Normative vs the Positive Economics View


Economic statements must be distinguished from positive (or factual) statements when using economics. Despite the advancements in medicine, health care seems to be almost permanently in crisis - hospital beds are in short supply, patients are left to lie along corridors, and politicians argue endlessly over whether more or less money should be spent on the National Health System.


The Equilibrium Model of Competitiveness


Consumers and firms are assumed to maximize their utility and profits, with markets operating in a competitive manner and prices set freely.


An Overview of Cost Concepts


A distinction between fixed and variable costs (economists' language) and direct and indirect (or overhead) costs (accountants' language)


An Overview of the Demand Curve


There is a significant downward slope between the price of a product and the quantity that is demanded in a demand graph.


An Analysis of the Price and Income Elasticities


Price and income are sensitive to changes in market conditions. In economics, the price elasticity of demand is defined as the percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in price. The price elasticity of supply can be expressed as the difference between the percentage change in quantity supplied and the percentage change in price.


It is imperative to consider health economics when making healthcare decisions in order to improve the quality of the information. Providing a systematic and objective system of thought, aids in the process of informing and improving decision-making. Alternative options for meeting prespecified objectives and balancing resource and benefit considerations represent an appropriate mode of thinking for decision-making, regardless of whether a formal economic evaluation is conducted.


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