Economics of Preventive Health care Essay

In order to fully appreciate the magnitude of determining cost effectiveness in healthcare outcomes management and planning, a short primer on healthcare economics is required (Block, 2006). According to Block, many professional programs do not teach the basic concepts and theories of healthcare economics as part of the medical school curriculum in the applied medical science; often both clinicians and administrators realize the importance that healthcare economics plays in the delivery of healthcare goods and services during the practical experience. The quest for better and more affordable healthcare is prompted an increasing number of businesses to contract with Health Maintenance Organizations to provide insurance coverage to employees and their families (Graber, 1998). Based on Garber, HMO’s typically try to promote the maintenance of proper health by encouraging a comprehensive approach to healthcare as a means of preventing more serious problems in the future; as a result of this trend, healthcare providers everywhere now place additional emphasis on preventive healthcare. This type of healthcare focuses on patient instruction in areas such as proper eating habits, weight control, stress management, exercise, cholesterol reduction, and eliminating smoking (Askew et. al, 2001). According to Garber, the goal of this approach is to help the patient avoid complications that can result from a destructive lifestyle. Public spending on human development increased with rising GDP per capita, and was generally concentrated on programs that benefited the poor, such as primary and secondary education and basic curative and preventive healthcare (Haggard, 2000). According to Block, when beginning to explore the basic concepts and theories of healthcare economics, one question arises: â€Å"Why do individual patients and the community-at-large demand healthcare goods and services? Several factors have been identified to answer this question; first, the United States has been experiencing changes in the age structure of the general population for several decades – people are generally living longer, but not necessarily healthier, with adequate functionality and an excellent quality of life. Second, as real and disposable income has increased, consumers of healthcare delivery goods and services have deployed higher expectations with respect to healthcare outcomes. Finally, improvements in healthcare technology and the growth of medical informatics as a separate discipline within the applied medical sciences have lead to an increased range of healthcare interventions; as the demand for healthcare goods and services continues to change and evolve within the next few decades, the need for professional healthcare administrators and clinicians to better understand the basic concepts and theories of healthcare economics becomes more critical. Health economics may be broadly defined as the application of theories, concepts and techniques of economics to the healthcare delivery system (qtd. n Block, 2006). As Block stated, several key areas of interest within the discipline of applied medicals sciences include: the allocation of resources (i. e. , land, labor, and capital) between various health promoting activities; the quantity of resources used in healthcare delivery; the administrative organization and funding of healthcare institutions; the efficiency with which healthcare resources are allocated and used for clinical and administrative healthcare delivery; and, the effects of preventive, curative, and rehabilitative healthcare services on individual utility and societal welfare. The overall aim of healthcare economics is to inform the healthcare constituencies so that the choices for allocating and using healthcare goods and services maximize the benefits and outcomes to the applicable population and individuals (Block, 2006). According to Block, healthcare economics may be examined at both a macro and micro level of attention. A closer look into the macroeconomics of healthcare delivery in the United States is required; there are some basic U.  S. healthcare economic indicators that must be explained including the annual health expenditure, the rate of healthcare inflation, the per capita healthcare expenditure, and the distribution of healthcare expenditures (Block, 2006). Based on the article â€Å"Does Preventive Care save Money? Health Economics and the Presidential Candidates† that I have read, I can say that as of now there is a little variation on the effect of preventive healthcare on its effectiveness. I agree with Cohen, that definitely, a number of proofs do imply that there are ‘opportunities’ to advance health and save money by ‘prevention’ but ‘far-reaching statements’ about ‘cost-saving potential’ of prevention conversely, are ‘overreaching’. I think that it is correct that avoiding illness may in a few scenarios save cash however in other scenarios may add to the cost of healthcare. I also agree that ‘preventive measures’ which don’t save money might or might not correspond to ‘cost-effective’ because of many factors. As what Cohen investigated, it has been reported that the dispersal of ‘cost effectiveness ratios’ of ‘preventive treatments and measures’ are comparable, which means that efficient investment opportunities on programs in healthcare are approximately very similar for the treatment and prevention. Based on the study, it can be concluded that a number of ‘preventive measures’ can save money, whereas the others don’t, though they could also be sensible because they present ‘health benefits’ in relation to their cost; on the contrary, a number of ‘preventive measures’ are costly (Cohen et. al. , 2008). I agree with Cohen that, in general, whether a particular preventive measure represent a good value or poor value depends on factors such as the population targeted, with measures targeting higher risk populations typically the most efficient.