The Economics Of Resource Allocation In Health Care

The question of how to allocate scarce medical resources has become an important public policy issue in recent decades. Cost-utility analysis is the most commonly used method for determining the allocation of these resources, but this book counters the argument that overcoming its inherent imbalances is simply a question of implementing methodological changes. The Economics of Resource Allocation in Health Care represents the first comprehensive analysis of equity weighting in health care resource allocation that offers a fundamental critique of its basic framework. It offers a critique of health economics, putting the discourse on economic evaluation into its broader socio-political context. Such an approach broadens the debate on fairness in health economics and ties it in with deeper-rooted problems in moral philosophy. Ultimately, this interdisciplinary study calls for the adoption of a fundamentally different paradigm to address the distribution of scarce medical resources. This book will be of interest to policy makers, health care professionals, and post-graduate students looking to broaden their understanding of the economics of the health care system.

The question of how to allocate scarce medical resources has become an important public policy issue in recent decades. Cost-utility analysis is the most commonly used method for determining the allocation of these resources, but this book counters the argument that overcoming its inherent imbalances is simply a question of implementing methodological changes. The Economics of Resource Allocation in Health Care represents the first comprehensive analysis of equity weighting in health care resource allocation that offers a fundamental critique of its basic framework. It offers a critique of health economics, putting the discourse on economic evaluation into its broader socio-political context. Such an approach broadens the debate on fairness in health economics and ties it in with deeper-rooted problems in moral philosophy. Ultimately, this interdisciplinary study calls for the adoption of a fundamentally different paradigm to address the distribution of scarce medical resources. This book will be of interest to policy makers, health care professionals, and post-graduate students looking to broaden their understanding of the economics of the health care system.

Budgets of governments and private insurances are limited. Not all drugs and services that appear beneficial to patients or physicians can be covered. Is there a core set of benefits that everyone should be entitled to? If so, how should this set be determined? Are fair decisions just impossible, if we know from the outset than not all needs can be met? While early work in bioethics has focused on clinical issues and a narrow set of principles, in recent years there has been a marked shift towards addressing broader population-level issues, requiring consideration of more demanding theories in philosophy, political science, and economics. At the heart of bioethics' new orientation is the goal of clarity on a complex set of questions in rationing and resource allocation. Rationing and Resource Allocation in Healthcare: Essential Readings provides key excerpts from seminal and pertinent texts and case studies about these topics, contextualized by original introductions. The volume is divided into three broad sections: Conceptual Distinctions and Ethical Theory; Rationing; and Resource Allocation. Containing the most important and classic articles surrounding the theoretical and practical issues related to rationing and how to allocate scare medical resources, this collection aims to assist and inform those who wish to be a part of bioethics' 21st century shift including practitioners and policy-makers, and students and scholars in the health sciences, philosophy, law, and medical ethics.

First published in 1987. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The biggest issue of economics in a hospital are the resource issues. A resource issue in hospitals creates many problems such as the excessive number of patients, poor service quality, lack of diagnostic tools and equipment, dirty and worn out facilities, long queues at the outpatient clinic, lack of drugs and other medical supplies, low employee morale, and so on. Hospital economics mention three main resource issues in as problems including; (1) Resource allocation issue, (2) Resource management issue, and (3) Generation resources issue. The main economic problem of resource allocation in hospitals are production and cost function. These two functions related to issues of equality and effectiveness of the hospital. This book specifically discusses on the aspect of hospital resource allocation by highlighting the productivity, competitiveness, cost components, economic burden of disease, and economic aspects of infectious diseases originating from the hospital. The resource management issue is related to the use of existing resources in terms of input and output. The main important economic concept is efficiency, both technical efficiency, economical, and scale, as well as the relationship between these concepts. The resource management issue highlight the economic scale, human resource development, quality development, and lean implementation. The issue of generation resources, includes how the hospital is able to get the resources to run operations without having to cover the access of stratum of community thus violating the principle of equality. This book will highlight the issue of generation resources by including a discussion of the revenue components of the hospital and the impact of DRGs.

Can policies for allocating resources in the Health Service be equitable and include assessment of the health needs of different populations? This is a topic on which there is currently vigorous debate. This book contains the proceedings of a conference designed to widen the debate by reviewing the research on assessment of health care needs and their value, and addressing how these findings may contribute in the framing and implementation of policies for resource allocation in the health service.

The global health community is broadly in agreement that achievement of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) hinges upon both an escalation of the financial resources dedicated to primary health care (PHC) and a more effective use of those resources: more money, better spent. This book introduces and explicates the end-to-end resource tracking and management (RTM) framework, which includes five components that determine effective and efficient financing for PHC: resource mobilization, allocation, utilization, productivity, and targeting.In addition, this book compiles detailed results from the most recent RTM-based resource tracking efforts for PHC in selected countries. This is to demonstrate how the RTM framework can be used to bring a set of separate resource tracking efforts at different stages of flow of funds into a comprehensive process with an end-to-end 'storyline'. In order to build a functional PHC system that addresses access, quality, and equity issues, this book highlights the key (public) financing issues that researchers, technical advisors, and policy makers would need to address in addition to more resources.

The purpose of economic evaluation is to inform decisions intended to improve healthcare. The new edition of Methods for the Economic Evaluation of Health Care Programmes equips the reader with the necessary tools and understanding required to undertake evaluations by providing an outline of key principles and a 'tool kit' based on the authors' own experiences of undertaking economic evaluations. Building on the strength of the previous edition, the accessible writing style ensures the text is key reading for the non-expert reader, as no prior knowledge of economics is required. The book employs a critical appraisal framework, which is useful both to researchers conducting studies and to decision-makers assessing them. Practical examples are provided throughout to aid learning and understanding. The book discusses the analytical and policy challenges that face health systems in seeking to allocate resources efficiently and fairly. New chapters include 'Principles of economic evaluation' and 'Making decisions in healthcare' which introduces the reader to core issues and questions about resource allocation, and provides an understanding of the fundamental principles which guide decision making. A key part of evidence-based decision making is the analysis of all the relevant evidence to make informed decisions and policy. The new chapter 'Identifying, synthesising and analysing evidence' highlights the importance of systematic review, and how and why these methods are used. As methods of analysis continue to develop, the chapter on 'Characterising, reporting and interpreting uncertainty' introduces the reader to recent methods of analysis and why characterizing uncertainty matters for health care decisions. The fourth edition of Methods for the Economic Evaluation of Health Care Programmes has been thoroughly revised and updated, making it essential reading for anyone commissioning, undertaking, or using economic evaluations in health care, including health service professionals, health economists, and health care decision makers.