Considerations in Health Economics Grant Senner, MD

1. Considerations in Health
Economics
Grant Senner, MD

2. Health economics focuses not just on the cost of
healthcare procedures, but also on the efficiency of
their applications in the healthcare field, where some
resources are in limited supply.

3. Medical technology can also factor into the decisions
of a health economist. For example, there are a limited
number of MRI machines and MRI technicians in any
given city. An MRI scan for Patient A might mean
Patient B cannot receive a scan that same day. A health
economist may ask whether it is more efficient for
Patient A to receive the scan instead of Patient B, or
vice versa. To make this decision, they take into
account certain factors. For example, if Patient A was
referred by a doctor while patient B requested his or
her own scan, a health economist might argue that
giving the scan to Patient A is more likely to lead to a
diagnosis, and therefore represents a more efficient use
of the MRI technology and the technician.

4. These types of health economic considerations help
influence the policies of health insurance companies as
well as government agencies involved in healthcare.

5. About the Author:
Grant Senner is the Founder of Sentinel Health
Consulting, which focuses on financial return in the
healthcare industry.

6. About the Author:
Grant Senner is the Founder of Sentinel Health
Consulting, which focuses on financial return in the
healthcare industry.