Please note: there may be some adjustments to the teaching arrangements published in the course catalogue for 2020-21. Given current circumstances related to the Covid-19 pandemic it is anticipated that some usual arrangements for teaching on campus will be modified to ensure the safety and wellbeing of students and staff on campus; further adjustments may also be necessary, or beneficial, during the course of the academic year as national requirements relating to management of the pandemic are revised.

Health Economics for HTA online MED5023

  • Academic Session: 2022-23
  • School: School of Health and Wellbeing
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
  • Typically Offered: Summer
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes
  • Available to Erasmus Students: Yes
  • Taught Wholly by Distance Learning: Yes

Short Description

This course will deliver the fundamentals of health economics and the practical elements of economic evaluation that are integral to health technology assessment.

Timetable

10 week online course comprising 10 lectures and 10 accompanying practical exercises. The lectures will be 45 mins/1 hr in duration and the exercise associated with each lecture will take a notional 2 hours for the student to complete. Each week the academic lead will contribute to and answer questions on a discussion board.

Requirements of Entry

None

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

A critique of a published economic evaluation and a written assignment. The critique accounts for 25% of the assessment and should be 1200 words. The written assignment accounts for 65% and should be 1,500-2,000 words. The remaining 10% assessment mark will be evaluated based upon student engagement and contribution with the discussion forum throughout the course (tutor reviewed).

Course Aims

This course aims to provide students with a critical understanding of health economics, its value and limitations. It will familiarise students with the application of economic theory to health and health care issues, the principles of health economics and the techniques of economic appraisal.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Critically assess and apply the key concepts of economics to a variety of health sector issues

■ Critically interpret and evaluate the distinctive economic characteristics of health care and how they affect the demand for, and supply of, health care

■ Critically evaluate the range of health economic evaluation techniques and apply them to appropriate circumstances

■ Critically appraise economic studies of health care interventions

■ Critically analyse inputs and outputs from economic evaluation (costs, outcomes, incremental cost-effectiveness ratios) and test the sensitivity of results

■ Critically evaluate the contribution of health economics to health care decision making

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.