Health Economics
The field of public health is driven by economics as much as it is by epidemiology. This course will teach you about health economics, which is the application of economic principles and techniques of analysis to health care in support of the public good. By the end of this course you will learn how to analyze the effectiveness of health policy outcomes through an economic lens, and how to use available resources to improve the quality of healthcare.
Course Topics
Healthcare Spending
Social determinants such as birthplace, age, work and living conditions vastly affect an individual’s healthcare spending. Students will learn how healthcare spending is affected by socio-economic disparities, both in terms of individual expense and government spending.
Introduction to Econometrics
Mathematical modeling is vital to understanding the economics of healthcare. Students will learn how to implement a regression based approach to explore health care policy outcomes on different populations.
Economic Evaluation
There are a variety of methods of economic evaluation, including cost-benefit analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, budgetary impact analysis and more. Students will learn to use model-based simulations in order to assess health outcomes in terms of cost-effectiveness. Students will also be introduced to QALYs (Quality-Adjusted Life Years) and DALYs (Disability-Adjusted Life Years) as key metrics for evaluating the effectiveness of healthcare.
300
Disclosure
This course is delivered online through an institution of the Lower Cost Models Consortium (LCMC) that is different than your degree-granting institution that awards the academic credit for the course.
