Public Health

 

             Role & Application of Economics in Public Health

 •      Definition: Economics is the study of decisions- the incentives that lead to them, and the consequences from them- as they relate to production, distribution & consumption of goods and services when resources are limited and have alternative competitive uses

•      Need/ Objectives: to assess issues related to efficiency, effectiveness, value and behaviour in the production and consumption of health and health care functions And their cost implications e.g. To improve the policy relevance and utility through assessment, planning and avoidance of wasteful expenditures in the hospitals and health programs -NHM

•      Application: To study the functioning of health care systems and health affecting behaviours such as smoking, alcoholism, junk food consumption. Health technology assessment is a technique for economic evaluation that need to be adapted by developed countries. The traditional classification of economic evaluation includes cost-minimization , cost effectiveness analysis cost-utility analysis and const benefit analysis. Public subsidies for the purchase of medicines, facilities for private sector, health insurance & economic well being of beneficiaries (ESI), Purchasing services from private sector as being done in Ayushman Bharat

•      Importance: HE studies provide information to decision makers for efficient use of available resources for Maximizing health benefits. Economic evaluation is one part of health economics And it is a tool for comparing costs and consequences of different interventions. In India because health care inflation ,increasing rates of chronic conditions, ageing population and increasing technology diffusion will require economic efficiency into health care systems