Length: 3000 words
Curriculum Mode: Report
Rationale
This assessment allows you to explore the breadth and depth of the field of health economics in a country's healthcare system of your choice. You will gain an understanding of the how healthcare systems are reformed for future sustain-ability and well as lessons learned from both successful and less successful healthcare reform attempts in optimising the value delivered by a healthcare system in the face of rising costs, growing demand, and advancing technology.
Task
Globally, healthcare systems are struggling with rising costs, increasing demand for services, inequitable access and variations in the safety and quality of services. Your assignment is to write a report that maps and critically evaluates the sustainability of healthcare system that has adopted a value-based healthcare reform and that reflects on the implications of such a model on health outcomes, experience of care and efficient and effective care in relation to costs.
Step 1:
You will start by identifying a healthcare system that moved away from the traditional approach of measuring value in terms of volume/output in relation to costs, to measuring value in terms of health outcomes, experience of care and efficient and effective care (in relation to costs). You will collect and include in your report consolidated data and indicators on health system inputs, outputs and care processes and the guiding principles of value-based health reform.
Step 2:
Based on what you found when looking at the consolidated data and indicators on health system inputs, outputs and care processes and the guiding principles of value-based health reform, you will write a report be structured in the following way:
- Cover Page
- Table of Contents
- Executive Summary (300) words maximum): This section provides a short summary of the main points being presented in the report. This section does not add to the total word count of the assignment.
- Introduction (approximately 400 words): This section (one paragraph) provides a context for the report by introducing the topic and purpose of the report (i.e. mapping and evaluating the sustainability of healthcare system), briefly introducing your healthcare system and proving the structure of the assignment (i.e. how you organised your text).
- Guiding principles of value-based healthcare reform (approximately 800 words): In this section you are required to provide the principles that guide healthcare delivery reform in your chosen country/state or territory in relation to:
o Market concentration
o Elasticity of the supply chain
o Elasticity of demand
o The need for volume
o Population demographics
o Risk transfer
o Regulatory authority
o Executing the health reform framework
- Discussion of Findings (approximately 1000 words): In this section you will analyse your findings based on the sustainability of this model in view of the ageing population, increased chronic disease, ever-increasing costs of technology and the demand on the entire healthcare system.
- Recommendations (approximately 500 words): Based on the above, if you were a consultant working for this healthcare system, what general recommendations would you make? You must address the ageing population, increased chronic disease, increasing costs of technology and the demand on the entire healthcare system.
- References: List of references used in the report, including at least 20 academic references.
Resources:
1. Lecture and tutorial content.
2. Recommended readings.
3. Class instruction about how to do the assignment.
4. Assignment template and associated advice supplied for this unit on vUWS.
5. University Library: peer-reviewed literature from Library databases, books and other online sources.