26101 Health Economics and Evaluation

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2023 is available in the Archives.

UTS: Business: Economics
Credit points: 6 cp

Subject level:

Undergraduate

Result type: Grade and marks

There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.

Description

New healthcare technologies provide opportunities to improve health outcomes but may place additional pressure on available healthcare resources. One of the key challenges for health systems is to ensure that new health technologies offer value for money. It is therefore crucial that a future workforce develop a deep understanding of the healthcare system and the way health care is financed, purchased and provided. As such, there is a high need to develop workforce skills to evaluate and optimise the utilisation of technologies in healthcare systems. This subject provides students with an understanding of the economics of health and health care, and enables them to apply analytical economics skills to problems of resource allocation in the health system. Furthermore, it provides students with a critical understanding of the principles, techniques and real-world application of health technology assessment, clinical evidence synthesis, patient outcomes and economic modelling.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

1.	Demonstrate an understanding of the key concepts of microeconomics applied to health and health care
2.	Discuss characteristics of the Australian health care system, including advantages and disadvantages of this system.
3.	Describe the role and value of health technology assessment in product development, market access and reimbursement
4.	Apply methods for economic evaluation of health technologies

Contribution to the development of graduate attributes

The subject contributes to the learning objectives of the Bachelor of Engineering.

• Graduate attribute A:

  Needs, context and systems.

• Graduate attribute B.4:

  Problem solving and design - Apply decision making methodologies to evaluate solutions for efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability.

• Graduate attribute C.2:

  Abstraction and modelling - Develop models using appropriate tools such as computer software, laboratory equipment and other devices.

This subject develops graduate attribute A by teaching students about the economic concepts, context and systems relevant to the field of bioengineering (all weeks). Graduate attributes B.4 and C.2 will be developed through the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) consultancy project (week 5 onwards), which has students create a model to perform an economic evaluation of a medical device, and determine how this can be used to inform decision-making. In developing this HTA model, students create a mathematical abstraction of reality, to answer clinical and economic questions. This project requires the application of decision making methodologies to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of alternative treatments, while also developing abstraction and modelling skills. Microsoft Excel will be used to develop a decision tree model, hereby contributing to graduate attribute C.2.

Teaching and learning strategies

The subject adopts a blended approach using online resources (educational videos, podcasts, readings, and mini quizzes), interactive, face-to-face lectures (usually 2 hours per week) and tutorials (usually 1 hour per week). During part of the tutorials and at home, students will also work on an HTA Consultancy Project. The HTA Consultancy Project will prepare students for evaluating a solution for an industry-posed problem related to health economics. The other tutorials will use a mixture of teaching approaches, including a debate and a game.

Online resources are organised by week, and students are expected to study these before the accompanying lectures/tutorials. Each week has associated pre-work and may have a self-administered mini quiz, to be completed at least on the evening before the lectures it relates to. The mini quiz results will be used by the lecturer to direct attention to concepts that were found to be difficult. As part of the online work, students will watch an educational video to experience the journey that a product (i.e. pharmaceutical) travels from its development by industry until it reaches patients in need. Students will also learn about the role of health economics in decision making by potential future employers.

The use of the UTS Learning Management System is integral to the subject and students are expected to login regularly to receive information relating to scheduling, assessment tasks, lecture and tutorial times and locations, to participate in the online forums, quizzes, and to access online resources. Students will also be able to access the Discussion Board for Health Economics & Evaluation. All enquiries regarding the content of lectures/tutorials should be posted in this discussion forum.

During this subject, students will receive feedback:

During lectures, through discussion of mini quiz results (focusing on questions that proved difficult), and through interactive class activities.

During tutorials, through in-class discussion and supervision/help with the HTA Consultancy Project.

After each assessment task, to learn from mistakes. Feedback on assessment task 1 will be provided at least a week before the final exam.

Content (topics)

• Introduction to health economics
• Microeconomics applied to health and health care:
  • Microeconomics tools for health system analysis
  • Markets and market failure
  • Uncertainty, risk and health insurance
  • Welfare economics
• Health care systems:
  • Health care financing
  • Equity and efficiency in health care provision
  • Overview of the Australian health care system (incl. funding, purchasing and providing roles, commonwealth and state roles)
  • International comparison
• The role and value of health technology assessment:
  • Decision making and resource allocation in Australia and internationally
  • HTA, types of economic evaluations
  • Interpretation, presentation and use of economic evaluation
  • Product life cycle and early HTA
• Methods for health technology assessment:
  • Measuring health benefits
  • Measuring costs
  • Economic modelling
  • Dealing with uncertainty

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Written home assignments (Individual)*

Objective(s):	This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1
Weight:	25%
Criteria:	*Note: Late submission of the assessment task will not be marked and awarded a mark of zero.

Assessment task 2: HTA consultancy project (individual)

Objective(s):	This addresses subject learning objective(s): 4
Weight:	30%

Assessment task 3: Final Exam (Individual)

Objective(s):	This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1, 2, 3 and 4
Weight:	45%

Minimum requirements

Students must achieve at least 50% of the subject’s total marks.

Recommended texts

Morris S, Devlin N, Parkin D and Spencer A (2012) Economic Analysis in Health Care, Second Edition, John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Lecture notes will be available on UTS online for each topic.

Additional readings will be made available via UTS online.