8.2 Healthcare Economics Flashcards
What is ‘scarcity’ with regard to healthcare economics?
Need is greater than resources so prioritisation occurs
What is ‘efficiency’ with regard to healthcare economics?
Getting the most out of limited resources
What is ‘equity’ with regard to healthcare economics?
The extent to which distribution of resources is fair
What is ‘effectiveness’ with regard to healthcare economics?
The extent to which an intervention works
What is ‘utility’ with regard to healthcare economics?
The value of individual places on a Health State
What is ‘opportunity cost’ with regard to healthcare economics?
By choosing to use resources for one thing, the opportunity to use those resources for something else is given up.
What is technical efficiency with regard to rationing?
The most effective way of meeting a need
What is allocative efficiency with regard to rationing?
Choose between many needs which need to be met to get best overall outcome
What is an economic evaluation?
Comparison of resource implications and benefits of alternative ways of delivering healthcare
Describe a ‘cost-minimalisation analysis’
Focus of evaluation is on costs. Outcomes are said to be equal. However, this is rarely true
Describe a ‘cost-effectiveness analysis’
Compare drugs which have a common health outcome. They are compared using cost per unit outcome
Describe a ‘cost-benefit analysis’
All inputs and outputs valued in monetary terms. However, it is hard to put a monetary value on some outcomes eg. lives saved
Describe a ‘cost-utility analysis’
Focuses on quality of health outcomes using QALYs
What is a QALY?
Quality Adjusted Life Year
1 year of perfect health = 1 QALY
Give 4 restrictions of QALYs
Do not distribute based on need May disadvantage common conditions Do not assess wider impact RCT are not perfect evidence to base off QALYs may not look at all dimentions of benefits
