Postgraduate - UnitECC5974 - Applied health economics and health policy

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 3, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Level	Postgraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Business and Economics
Organisational Unit	Department of Economics
Offered	Clayton Second semester 2015 (Off-campus)
Coordinator(s)	Dr Yuanyuan Gu

Synopsis

This unit synthesizes contemporary issues in health policy, building on the fundamental economic concepts, including economic efficiency and equity, learned in the first level introductory unit. It is aimed at further developing the core concepts of efficiency and equity, and the application of contemporary health care issues. The unit is organised around three themes: the role of government in the health care system; government regulation in the organisation and delivery of health care services and incentives for equity and efficiency; and the use of economic principles to analyse and develop policy options in health care.

Outcomes

The learning goals associated with this unit are to:

understand the changing perceptions of the role of government in the health sector
understand the organisation, delivery and financing of health services, including incentives for equity and efficiency
understand the implications of the ageing population on health care expenditure in Australia, including the organisation, delivery and funding of aged care services
understand the impact of government regulation on prices and subsidies in the pharmaceutical, health technology and in private health insurance industries
understand the options for health system reform, including the analysis of policy options, resource allocation and priority setting models.

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 50%
Examination: 50%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Independent study may include associated readings, assessment and preparation for scheduled activities. The unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Yuanyuan Gu

Prerequisites

Students must have passed ECX9700 or ECC5970 or have permission from the unit coordinator.

Prohibitions

ECX9741