0967 - Postgraduate Diploma in Health Economics and Evaluation

This course is designed to provide students who already possess a basic degree in economics with the skills necessary to pursue a future career as academic or policy-oriented economists, as administrators in the health sector or as health-care evaluators. It introduces economists to the basic concepts of epidemiology and bioethics and trains participants in research methods by having them undertake a project during their placement at an approved institution.

A three-month industry-based learning component must be conducted at an institution acceptable to the course coordinator. During the industry-based learning component the student is expected to complete an applied project under the direction of a supervisor.

The learning goals associated with this course are to:

• demonstrate a rigorous theoretical analysis using the disciplines of economics, health economics and health policy to the analysis of health care policy and institutions
• demonstrate analytical skills in economics in an examination of the role of incentives in the achievement of health care objectives
• apply technical skills in economic evaluation to the performance of a sophisticated economic evaluation of a health intervention
• apply their training from the course in an institutional setting through a supervised work placement.

The course structure has two main components:

• a set of core units in health economics
• a three-month placement unit (normally undertaken during the summer semester).

(a.) Students must complete four core units (24 points):

• ECC4870 Health economics
• ECC4990 Economic evaluation of health services
• ECX5465 Microeconomics
• MPH1040 Introductory epidemiology

(b.) students must complete three units (18 points) from the following list:

• CHB5102 Questions of life and death
• CHB5203 Ethical issues in patient care
• ECC4720 Law and economics
• ECC4810 Public economics
• ECC4830 Welfare economics
• ECX4000 Reading unit in applied health economics
• ECX5466 Macroeconomics
• ECX5470 Competition, regulation and policy
• ECX5479 Project evaluation
• ECX5484 Industrial organisation
• ETC4410 Applied econometrics
• ETC5420 Microeconometrics
• ETX5443 Quantitative economic policy

(c.) students must complete one industry-based learning unit (6 points):

• ECC5710 Health industry-based learning

Students who successfully complete the Postgraduate Diploma in Health Economics and Evaluation with an average of 70 per cent or above may be eligible for admission to the Master of Philosophy.

Postgraduate Diploma in Health Economics and Evaluation