AM1
SMDM CORE COURSE: INTRODUCTION TO COST-EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS
Course Level: Beginner
Overview: Cost-effectiveness analysis is the art and science of ‘smart shopping’ in healthcare. Many healthcare decision makers use cost-effectiveness analysis to inform their decisions in order to maximize value while staying within budget. This class will answer the WHO, WHERE, WHY, WHEN, WHAT, HOW questions related to cost-effectiveness analysis.
Background: Health economics is the art of applying economic principles to healthcare. These principles include (a) scarcity exists in healthcare; (b) scarcity forces choice; and (c) smart choices involve not paying more for something than it is worth (or more than is available in the budget). While these ideas seem trivial, they have profound consequences, especially in healthcare. Often, cost-effectiveness analysis is viewed in a less favorable light by patients and physicians. This may be an inevitable consequence of the tension between economic reasoning designed to maximize society’s welfare and medical techniques designed to maximize an individual’s health outcome. As new treatments get more expensive, healthcare decision makers will continue to use cost-effectiveness analysis to inform their decisions about how to spend scarce resources. Cost-effectiveness analysis offers a framework for an organized consideration of treatment options as we balance the imperatives of treating disease with not spending more than we should.
Format Requirements: This is an introductory level course; it is for individuals interested in developing their understanding of SMDM posters and presentations.
Description and Objectives:
Jeffrey S. Hoch, PhD
Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California - Davis
Professor
Department of Health Policy Management and Evaluation, Faculty of Medicine