Health Economics
Why health economics?
Cost-effectiveness is a necessary consideration across all research. Health economics provides a framework for measuring and evaluating cost and value of any health intervention or program – not only to the individual, but to society in general. Such considerations are particularly important when seeking government subsidies for listing new technologies and pharmaceuticals. The role of health economics is therefore an essential element which facilitates the translation of favourable clinical data into routine practice and patient outcomes.
The role of health economics has become increasingly important for a number of reasons, including pressure on health resources, the need to demonstrate economic implications within translation, the increasing array of technological interventions and an empowered consumer. Economic tools provide the means to address resource allocation consistently and explicitly for fair and transparent distribution.
Within Western Australia, capacity has been slowly building in recent years, although there is still a considerable shortage of skilled health economists. WAHTN has aided the health economics sector in WA by facilitating collaboration across institutions to maximise capabilities and by developing programs and initiatives to raise awareness about the role health economics plays through the Western Australian Translation and Collaboration in Health Economics (WATCHE) platform.