Health economics (Essay Sample)

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Health economics
Introduction
The economic environment, recognizes health through a branch known health economics. Health economics studies the quality of providing health care, consumer and producer behavior of health care and the efficiency of providing the health care. Economists in the health sector, focuses on the systems used in providing quality health care and certain consumer behavior like smoking that affects health.
Healthcare sector, thus needs to allocate its scarce resources for the production of better health care to the patients. These resources include the healthcare, doctors, hospital infrastructure and health insurance covers that facilitate in the provision of proper medical attention.
Production function in health care compares the amount of resources invested in the production of health care such as capital and labor. It involves much technological use. In the economic setting, production function entails providing an extra unit of production to maximize profits of a health facility. It has little emphasis on the total production of health care.
Production of health
Production of health relies on the law of diminishing returns where the marginal production, total and average production is involved. In health production involves profit maximization and put emphasis on marginal production compared to total production.
Main determinants of health.
The determinants of health include lifestyle, socioeconomic conditions, age and income.
The lifestyle an individual influences the health status of the person by the type of food he or she consumes. The eating habits determine how well health will be to stand the test of diseases. Proper lifestyle involves good eating habits, no addiction or consumption of drugs and alcohol with emphasis to smoking. A poor health care will result in low marginal production of health of an individual. It not only makes the person less active, but also less productive. Good health care improves the rate of activity and productivity of an individual. This increases the production of an extra unit of health care. The total production curve assumes an upward rotation as a result of the change of lifestyle.
A person age determines the health, immunity towards diseases. The younger an individual, the less prone he or she is towards diseases while the older the individual the poor is his immunity. The rate of healthcare reduces as one ages and subsequent the marginal production is low. This results in a downward shift of the total production curve, which assumes a flat shape. The marginal product curve shifts towards the left.(Case and Christina, 164)
Socio-economy is a day to day determinant that greatly influences the medical care of patients. It involves the social well being of the individuals and their economic status. Socio- economy involves factors such as education aimed at improving the individual's understanding one's health. Good education knows the impact of proper feeding, makes him or her a better health producer and saves on the cost of maintaining visiting the hospitals by maintaining proper health. Adequate and proper education as a socioeconomic factor, results in an upward shift of the total production curve. Individuals lacking enough education and are poor risk dying as they are limited to, use resources to improve their health. The government involvement to increase incentives and subsidizing on medical products, and drugs helps to improve one's health as it is easily affordable.(Case and Christina, 164)
Good health care goes hand in hand with income. The higher the income the better one will be able to maintain good health care. High income increases the purchasing power of an individual who even when sick will afford to buy the drugs and buy food that assist in maintaining a proper diet. Higher income earners are in a better position to access all the medical care they need and also enjoy the ability to live in safer and cleaner environments.low income earners become desperate about life and will be lured to easily indulge in drug consumption such as smoking and taking alcohol.(Wagstaff and Eddy, 543)
The general surroundings of people with asthma problem I will influence their health conditions. These people will prefer places that are relatively warmer to reduce chances of deteriorating health. This will affect the total production in relation to the production of health as the total production curve assumes an upward shift. Air Pollution results of respiratory diseases in individuals and may cause fetal problems in children. There is a need to control environmental pollution so as to improve on the production of health and maintain good health care for all. (Fuchs and Sarah, 207)
Some significant determinants outlined by world health organizations include support from parents, friends, and the society at large. These influence the health of an individual as their interaction will see them change their lifestyle and eating habits which affects their health. Some health concerns are genetically inherited, such as cancer. Certain life behaviors and livelihood is gotten from inheritance thus one will be a smoker or alcohol takers at a very early age due to inheriting certain character in a family person.men ...