The dominant hospital system in a market is considering various options to reduce the number of emergency room visits. A local health care consultant proposed that the hospital distribute a "Healthy Living and Preparedness" manual providing basic information on improving health and how to avoid unnecessary emergency room visits. The consultant explains that the manual has met with substantial success in a neighboring municipality. The program would rely on the hospital's volunteers both to distribute the manuals to community groups and train those groups on the manual. The volunteers would be trained by hospital employees. Suppose you are assigned the task of conducting an economic evaluation. The evaluation would compare the efficiency of the wellness manual with the alternative of doing nothing.
A.) What type of information do you need before deciding whether an economic evaluation of the wellness manual makes sense?
B.) Should your evaluation be a cost-benefit or a cost-effectiveness analysis? Why?
C.) Propose an indicator that can be used to capture the outcome of the program.
D.) Whose costs and what costs of the net program should be included in the analysis?
The dominant hospital system in a market is considering various options to reduce the number of emergency room visits. A local health care consultant proposed that the hospital distribute a "Healthy Living and Preparedness" manual providing basic information on improving health and how to avoid unnecessary emergency room visits. The consultant explains that the manual has met with substantial success in a neighboring municipality. The program would rely on the hospital's volunteers both to distribute the manuals to community groups and train those groups on the manual. The volunteers would be trained by hospital employees. Suppose you are assigned the task of conducting an economic evaluation. The evaluation would compare the efficiency of the wellness manual with the alternative of doing nothing.
A.) What type of information do you need before deciding whether an economic evaluation of the wellness manual makes sense?
B.) Should your evaluation be a cost-benefit or a cost-effectiveness analysis? Why?
C.) Propose an indicator that can be used to capture the outcome of the program.
D.) Whose costs and what costs of the net program should be included in the analysis?
