General description

This course aims to explain how the science of choices can be applied to health services and how different societies solve the complex problem of organising health care for their citizens.The health economic approach offers a valuable way to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of different health systems around the world.

Learning outcomes

The aim of this course is to connect health and economics, therefore it will be divided into three main areas: 1) an introduction to/review of the discipline of economics, 2) explanation of some of the special features of health care sector and 3)understanding the organisation and comparison of different health care systems.

Contents

The first topic introduces of some basic economic principles:choice, supply, demand, markets, economic models, economic efficiency and opportunity cost.
This is followed, in the second topic, by explanations of some of the special features of the health care sector, for example market failure, incentives, justice, equity and agency.
The final topic shows how health care is organised in different countries and ways in which comparisons can be made between different systems.

Teaching methods

Teaching method	Contact	Online
Group work
Independent work

Learning will be based on both problem-solving tasks and on interactive group discussions in Moodle. Detailed guidelines will be provided later.

Teaching language

English

Evaluation and evaluation criteria

Numeric 1-5.
Active involvement in discussions and examinations in the Moodle e-learning environment.

Study materials

Recommended Reading:
Morris S, Devlin N and Parkin D. Economic Analysis in health care. Wiley 2007 or
Wonderling D, Gruen R and Black N. Introduction to health economics. McGrawHill Education 2005 (ebrary electronic book) or
Mooney G. Economics, Medicine and Health care. 3rd ed. Harlow: Pearson Education 2003.

Further information

Kurssi kuuluu TerveysNetin tarjontaan ja opiskeluoikeuden saavat ainoastaan verkoston jäsenlaitosten opiskelijat.
Contact person Neill Booth, Tampere School of Public Health, University of Tampere.
Lisätietoja www.terveysnet.fi

Belongs to following study modules