Economics of Health and Health Care
Code
2135
Credits
3,5
Teacher in charge
Pedro Luís Oliveira Martins Pita Barros
Teaching language
English
Objectives
Students should become aware of the special characteristics of the health care sector. They should be able, at the end of the course, to discuss the main policy issues in the health sector, as well as to provide economic analysis to treat specific questions.
Prerequisites
N/A
Subject matter
The particular characteristics of the health care sector. Demand for health and health care. Information problems in health care: supplier-induced demand and agency relationships. The supply side of health care: hospitals as special organizations, waiting lists and waiting times. Primary care delivery: referrals and gatekeeping, public and private provision of health care, pharmaceutical markets, equity, economic evaluation (brief introduction).
Bibliography
RESOURCES.
A detailed readings list per class will be provided through the Web page of the course. Moodle will be used as the main communication tool with students. Problem sets, readings, and warnings about the course will be provided through Moodle.
Pedro Pita Barros, Economia da Saúde - Conceitos e Comportamentos, Livraria Almedina, 3ª Edition, 2013. (Portuguese) [PPB]
Pedro Pita Barros and Xavier Martinez-Giralt, Health Economics - an industrial organization approach. Routledge. 2011. [BMG] (English)
J. Newhouse and A. Culyer, editors, Handbook of Health Economics, 2 volumes, North-Holland, 2000. [HHE] (English) Selected chapters.
A more introductory level book is Folland, Goodmand and Stano, The Economics of Health and Health Care, 5th edition, Pearson, 2007. [FGS] (English)
On some lectures I may provide further readings. You may choose the Portuguese or English versions of the reading list. They are essentially equivalent and are provided as alternatives. Class notes will be important, but you should go beyond them in your study.
The course Web page at the intranet (Moodle) is used as the main communication tool about the course.
Teaching method
The course will have a mix of ex-cathedra sessions, in-class experiments, class discussions and take-home problem-solving questions.
Evaluation method
Final exam is mandatory and counts for 50% of the final grade. Passing the course has a minimum grade requirement of 8.00 in the exam. Students will have to deliver an individual term report, which counts for 40% of your grade. In-class participation can lead to an adjustment of your final grade of up to plus or minus 2.00 points. Students are required to participate in a blog, with 3 entries during the semester, on subjects related to class materials, and it will count 30% of your grade. The worst 10% of your grade will be discarded.
The general rules of the University apply in case of academic dishonesty and in any situation not foreseen in the above.