HP4C5E Half Unit
Using Health Economics to Analyse and Inform Policy and Practice
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Prof Andrew Street
Availability
This course is compulsory on the Executive MSc in Health Economics, Outcomes and Management in Clinical Sciences. This course is not available as an outside option to students on other programmes.
Course content
The health care sector is extremely complex, and this gives rise to concerns about how the health system should be organised, how incentives should be designed, and how performance should be evaluated. The objective of the course is to give students an introduction to how health systems are constructed, and how the various parts of the system interact; the role of regulation, resource allocation, payment arrangements, and performance measurement; the complexities of evaluating policy and performance; and the contribution that health economics can make to the evaluation and development of health policy. Participants are introduced to variety of econometric methods as the course progresses.
Teaching
This course will be delivered as a combination of lectures and seminars. The course will be delivered over a minimum total of 25 hours.
Formative assessment
Essay plan
Formative assessment (up to 1000 words), is an outline of the summative assessment essay question. This will give students an opportunity to develop their thoughts ahead of the summative assessment, and will allow for feedback from course teachers that will guide students when they work on their longer summative essay
Indicative reading
Bridgewater B, Hickey GL, Cooper G, Deanfield J, Roxburgh J. Publishing cardiac surgery mortality rates: lessons for other specialties BMJ 2013; 346 :f1139.
Smith, P.C. and Street, A.D. (2013), On the Uses of Routine Patient‐Reported Health Outcome Data. Health Econ., 22: 119-131.
Busse, R, et al (2013), Diagnosis Related Groups in Europe: Moving Towards Transparency, Efficiency, and Quality in Hospitals? British Medical Journal, vol 346, f3197, pp. f3197. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.f3197.
Gaughan, J., Kobel, C. Coronary artery bypass grafts and diagnosis related groups: patient classification and hospital reimbursement in 10 European countries. Health Econ Rev 4, 4 (2014).
Collins R, Bowman L, Landray M, Peto R. The magic of randomization versus the myth of real-world evidence. N Engl J Med 2020;382:674-678.
Califf RM, Hernandez AF, Landray M. Weighing the Benefits and Risks of Proliferating Observational Treatment Assessments: Observational Cacophony, Randomized Harmony. JAMA. 2020;324(7):625–626. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.13319
Assessment
Essay (80%, 4500 words)
Quiz (20%)
Essay (80%, 4500 words); Multiple Choice Quiz (20%, 20 questions)
Key facts
Department: Intercollegiate
Course Study Period: Autumn Term
Unit value: Half unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
CEFR Level: Null
Total students 2024/25: Unavailable
Average class size 2024/25: Unavailable
Controlled access 2024/25: NoCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.
Personal development skills
- Self-management
- Team working
- Problem solving
- Application of information skills
- Communication
- Application of numeracy skills
- Specialist skills