HPM 222 Cost-Effectiveness and Comparative Effectiveness in Health & Healthcare

In the face of shrinking health care resources, providers, payers, and purchasers of health care must become more efficient, and therefore we must understand the optimal basis and methods for estimating the value of any health care intervention or program. The bottom line is not the only thing that matters, however.  Providers and policymakers must also ask how existing alternative therapies for a given condition compare in their effectiveness and safety for patients and whether the added benefits from the new therapy represent good value for money.  This course introduces students to the concepts and techniques used in the economic evaluation of health care interventions, including the foundations, mechanics, and methodologies of cost effectiveness and comparative effective analysis.  The outcome of the course is to prepare students to: 1) Understand the process of planning, conducting, and interpreting of cost effectiveness and comparative effectiveness research; 2) Interpret and critique the literature of cost effectiveness and comparative analysis; and 3) Construct basic versions of these analyses themselves.