Health Economics

Scholar Year: 2017/2018

Courses

Head Teacher Responsability António Bento Ratão Caleiro Head

Weekly workload Hours/week T TP P PL TC S E EL OT TPL O OT/PL Type of classes 1,67 ,33 ,13 Lectures Type Teacher Classes Hours Theoretical Totals 1 1,67 Seminário Totals 1 0,33 Orientação Tutorial Totals 1 0,13

Teaching language

Portuguese

Intended learning outcomes (Knowledges, skills and competencies to be developed by the students)

OBJECTIVES: The course aims to provide an economic analysis of the main aspects related to the health sector, whenever possible with reference to the Portuguese case.

SKILLS: It is expected that students:
- Understand the specific aspects of the economic analysis of health;
- Use basic principles and tools of economic analysis to critically evaluate aspects or events in the health sector;
- Analyze critically the market for the provision of health care;
- Understand the functioning of the supply and demand for health care;
- Discuss on reasonable grounds the financing of health systems.

Syllabus

1. Economics and Healthcare
2. The Demand of Healthcare
2.1 The induction of healthcare
3. The Supply of Healthcare
3.1 The associated costs
4. The Functioning and Specificities of the Healthcare Market
5. The Financing of the Healtcare
5.1 Models of payment

Demonstration of the syllabus coherence with the UC intended learning outcomes

The above syllabus seek to meet the objectives of the course as follows:
• As the demand for and supply of health care are essential (micro-) economic elements, chapters 2 and 3 shall deal with these aspects.
• Taking into account the specific characteristics associated with those two elements, it is believed desirable to present some concepts and basic economic principles previously, which takes place in Chapter 1, these being further analized in Chapter 4.
In terms of a (macro-) economic approach to health it stand out, for their importance, the aspects that relate to the financing of the healthcare system, this aspect is analyzed in chapter 6.

Teaching methodologies

The teaching methodology is based on:
1) the presentation of the strictly necessary theory of Health Economics;
2) applying, as far as possible, that theory, using examples and case studies wherever possible considering the Portuguese case.

Demonstration of the teaching methodologies coherence with the curricular unit's intended learning outcomes

The teaching methodology is presented according to the objectives of the course, embodied in the skills to be acquired by students, since, by relying on the presentation of the economic theory of health, aims to provide a solid knowledge base, and this necessary for an appropriate understanding of its various applications, highlighting, whenever possible, the Portuguese case

Assessment methodologies and evidences

According to the essential objectives of the course, the assessment of the acquisition of skills will be based on completion of a written test, with consultation on the material presented, and a paper on a topic of students' choice.

Attendance system

Bibliografia

Barros, P.P. (2009). Economia da saúde: conceitos e comportamentos. 2ª ed. Coimbra: Edições Almedina, 2009.

Donfouet, H.; Mahieu, P-A. (2012), “Community-based health insurance and social capital: a review”, Health Economics Review, 2:5. doi:10.1186/2191-1991-2-5.

Drummond, M.F.; Stoddart, G.L. & Torrance, G.W. (2005). Methods for the economic evaluation of health care programmes. 3rd ed. Oxford : Oxford University Press.

Edwards, R.T.; Charles, J.M.; Lloyd-Williams, H. (2013), “Public health economics: a systematic review of guidance for the economic evaluation of public health interventions and discussion of key methodological issues”, BMC Public Health, 13: 1001. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-13-1001

Folland, S.; Goodman, A.C.& Stano, M. (2009). The economics of health and health care. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall.

Mooney, G. (2003). Economics Medicine and Health Care. Bloomington: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Phelps, C.E. (2009). Health economics. 4th ed. Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley.

Sloan, F.A.; Hsieh, C. (2012). Health Economics. MIT Press.

Whittington, Ruth (2008). Introduction to Health Economics: A Beginners Guide Preview. ISBN 978-0-9545494-5-9.