Health Economics

Study Course Description

Course Description Statuss:Approved

Course Description Version:5.00

Study Course Accepted:02.02.2024 12:29:11

Study Course Information
Course Code:		VVDG_025		LQF level:		Level 6
Credit Points:		2.00		ECTS:		3.00
Branch of Science:		Economics; Economic Theories		Target Audience:		Medical Technologies; Management Science; Medical Services
Study Course Supervisor
Course Supervisor:		Alina Dūdele
Study Course Implementer
Structural Unit:		Faculty of Social Sciences
The Head of Structural Unit:
Contacts:		Dzirciema street 16, Rīga, szfrsu[pnkts]lv
Study Course Planning
Full-Time - Semester No.1
Lectures (count)		8	Lecture Length (academic hours)		2	Total Contact Hours of Lectures		16
Classes (count)		8	Class Length (academic hours)		2	Total Contact Hours of Classes		16
Total Contact Hours								32
Study course description
Preliminary Knowledge:
Basic knowledge of economics is desirable.
Objective:
To master and practically apply the principles and methods of microeconomics in the context of the health system, to analyze the behavioral models of individual players (patients, medical institutions), the factors influencing them and to understand the macroeconomic significance of health systems.
Topic Layout (Full-Time)
No.	Topic			Type of Implementation		Number	Venue
1	Nature, principles, application of health economics. Characteristics of the health care services market			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
2	Macroeconomic significance of the health sector			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
3	Analysis of health care indicators			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
				Classes		1.00	auditorium
4	Health care financing systems			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
				Classes		1.00	auditorium
5	Health care payment systems			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
				Classes		1.00	auditorium
6	Categories and analysis of health care costs			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
				Classes		2.00	auditorium
7	Assessment of health technologies			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
				Classes		1.00	auditorium
8	Methods of economic analysis, their application. Evaluating cost effectiveness			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
				Classes		2.00	auditorium
Assessment
Unaided Work:
Organization of students' independent work and tasks: • Acquisition and analysis of scientific literature • Data search, compilation and analysis • Presentation of the results of individual and group tasks. In order to evaluate the quality of the study course as a whole, the student must fill out the study course evaluation questionnaire on the Student Portal.
Assessment Criteria:
Evaluation criteria: • Activity during interactive lectures • Solving situation tasks in classes • Correctness of answers in the written exam
Final Examination (Full-Time):		Exam
Final Examination (Part-Time):
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge:		Upon successful completion of the study course, the student has acquired knowledge of: • the nature and importance of the health economy as a science • macroeconomic assessment of the health sector • microeconomic methods in the analysis and planning of health care processes • patterns of individual behavior of health system participants and factors influencing it • restrictive activities of market factors in the field of health care • health production functions, demand, supply and price formation in the health sector • healthcare financing and payment systems • principles, methods of economic evaluation of health technologies and their application
Skills:		The student has acquired the following skills: • To analyze the economic aspects of health systems: resource constraints, efficiency, productivity, etc. • To analyze the factors forming the demand and supply in health care • To evaluate aspects of health care service price formation • To apply cost-benefit analysis in the planning and management of health systems • To apply the discount method to the costs and benefits of health systems that are affected by the time factor • To apply cost comparison and cost-effectiveness analysis in health technology assessment • To calculate the cost-effectiveness of health technologies
Competencies:		The student has acquired the following competencies: • To judge on the macroeconomic importance of the health sector • To assess the role and functioning of market factors in the healthcare sector • To assess the economic performance, costs and results of health systems • To substantiate and evaluate the economic efficiency of health technologies and to judge the necessity of their deployment
Bibliography
No.	Reference
Required Reading
1	Guinness L., Wiseman V. Introduction to Health Economics (2nd edition). Open University Press (2011) (akceptējams izdevums/approved publication)
Additional Reading
1	Folland S., Goodman A., Stano M. The Economics of Health and Health Care. Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall (2017)
2	Drummond M. Methods for the economic evaluation of health care programmes / Michael F. Drummond ... [et al.]. 4th ed. Oxford ;New York : Oxford University Press (2015)
3	S.Larsson, J.Clawson, J.Kellar. 2023. The patient priority: solve health care's value crisis by measuring and delivering outcomes that matter to patients. New York. McGraw Hill.
Other Information Sources
1	http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-health-economics-
2	http://www.springer.com/medicine/health+informatics/journal…
3	http://www.oecd.org/health/health-systems/oecdhealthdata.htm
4	http://www.who.int/health_financing/en/