About the Programme
Health economics applies economic theories of consumer, producer, and social choice to understand the decisions of individuals, health care providers, organisations, and governments. The Ch.HE® programme uses these principles to address issues from technology evaluation and drug pricing to vaccine access, pandemics, and global health equity.
Chartered Health Economists apply theories of production, efficiency, competition, and regulation to help the public and private sector make cost-effective, equitable decisions - including economic evaluation of new technologies, pricing policy, and anti-trust analysis.
Health Industry Overview
Health care accounts for over 10 per cent of GDP in most developed nations and is the world's largest employer when all sub-sectors are counted together. Key characteristics of the sector include:
- Consistent employment growth that outpaces most other industries
- A highly fragmented market with no single firm holding dominant pricing power
- Constant innovation under intensified regulatory scrutiny
- Strong correlation between national income levels and health expenditure
Large developing economies - India, China, Brazil, Russia - spend proportionately less on health care than industrialised nations, creating significant growth potential and a strong need for economic expertise in shaping reform.
Programme Objectives
Health economics provides a framework for allocating limited health resources to meet demand for services, promotion, and prevention. Starting from three core economic questions - what to produce, how to produce it, and who should receive it - the programme develops skills in:
- Cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis
- Health technology assessment and drug appraisal
- Health financing and insurance design
- Market analysis, regulation, and public policy evaluation
From this starting point, three basic questions arise:
- What goods and services shall we produce?
- How shall we produce them?
- Who shall receive them?
Economic evaluation generates evidence-based information - through cost-effectiveness or cost-benefit analysis - to guide resource allocation decisions. All public health decisions have resource implications, making this analytical framework indispensable for health care workers, medical professionals, and policy makers alike.
Role of a Health Economist
What do Health Economists do?
Health economists investigate how resources are distributed and used across health care systems, working in both public and private settings. They evaluate policies and address challenges including:
- Alternative ways of production and delivery of health care
- Planning, budgeting and monitoring of health care services
- Economic evaluation - relating the costs and benefits of alternative ways of delivering health care
Economic evaluation forms the largest share of a health economist's workload and is most directly relevant to managers and practitioners.
Health Economists should:
- Develop programme objectives, strategies and study methods on health care
- Design and execute research studies to guide effective use of information and resources
- Lead and direct plans to calculate various costs related to health care
- Utilise research programmes on health economic topics
- Suggest new health outcomes for treatment and prevention of health issues
- Evaluate current and proposed strategies and interpret findings
- Proactively identify market access opportunities through effective planning and financially sound business proposals
- Effectively allocate and deploy resources including people, activities, projects and investment
- Contribute to strategic discussions and market-access planning processes
- Communicate economic assessment results to appropriate internal audiences
- Develop and execute health economic models and methods to reduce cost
- Perform economic analysis and model plans for health care programmes
- Communicate academic literature, presentations and reports on research findings to update on new issues, solutions and other topics
- Ensure that medical care is provided to all patients in an efficient and effective way
- Provide lectures or educational sessions to educate about health economics
- Manage budget and cost estimates according to plans
- Manage business relationships with doctors, patients, economists and other stakeholders
Health Economists also contribute to ongoing projects, assisting with:
- Economic analysis, cash flow, risk analysis and valuation in the health industry
- Conducting micro-economic analysis applicable to all sectors of the health care supply chain
- Analysing rates, margins, long-term contracts and market demand forecasts to determine economic viability in the health sector
- Adjusting cash flow analysis for risk and uncertainty
- Identifying advancement in health care processes and technology
- Identifying marketing and pricing of health care products and services
- Conducting feasibility studies and preparing sensitivity/risk analysis reports
- Applying break-even analysis and understanding its implications
Key Benefits of the Programme
As health resources become more constrained and intervention options multiply, evidence-based decision-making is more important than ever. The Ch.HE® equips candidates to:
- Understand how to allocate scarce health resources and assess the effects on human health
- Analyse and propose improvements to existing health service systems to make them more effective
- Understand how the distribution of health resources across places and times affects population health
- Develop economic models linking health service providers with individual patients while accounting for risk factors
- Apply market economics principles to individual health-related cases and improve decision-making
- Demonstrate a systematic understanding of the application of health economics in healthcare decision-making
- Critically evaluate current research in health economics for clinical and policy decisions
- Apply a critical awareness of current issues in health economic evaluations
- Implement health economic evaluations in clinical practice scenarios
- Identify how to construct cash flow projections for health care projects
- Attain Super Specialist Status in "Health Economics" with both the knowledge and skill to perform your duties as a Chartered Health Economist
- Add a globally recognised professional designation and post-nominal to your resume, business card and email signature
- Access one of the top economic and financial professional networks around the globe
Who Should Attend
Suitable for a wide range of professionals, including:
- Health care professionals seeking economics expertise
- Economic research analysts in health policy
- Investors and management consultants advising health care organisations
- Macroeconomic policy analysts
- Policy makers in health ministries and regulatory bodies
- Professionals in pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries
- Researchers and academics in health and social sciences
- Public health professionals seeking a grounding in economic methods
Educational Requirements
- Graduates (Any Stream): Pass Level 1 - Chartered Economist Exam.
- Postgraduates in Economics: Directly pursue the Chartered Health Economist® designation.
Career Opportunities
The Ch.HE® opens strong career prospects across the health sector globally. Roles include:
- Health Economist - Government Health Ministry or Department
- Economic Analyst - National Health Authority
- Health Policy Analyst - International organisations (WHO, World Bank)
- Health Technology Assessment Specialist - Pharmaceutical companies
- Outcomes Research Economist - Biotech and medical device firms
- Health Insurance and Financing Advisor
- Research Economist - Academic and public health institutions
- Consultant in Health Care Economics and Strategy
Skills Required
Key Skills and Proficiencies of a Chartered Health Economist:
- Analytical Skills: Ability to review health and economic data in detail, observe patterns, perform advanced calculations and draw logical conclusions.
- Critical-thinking Skills: Use logic and reasoning to solve complex problems - for instance, identifying how economic trends affect a health care organisation.
- Speaking Skills: Explain economic work to others through presentations and reports for clients who may not have a background in economics.
- Writing Skills: Present findings clearly in reports for colleagues, clients, journals or news media.
- Mathematical Proficiency: Expert knowledge of algebra, statistics, calculus and econometrics and their applications in health contexts.
- Research Ability: Undertake independent research and effectively identify problems in health systems and policy.
- Regulatory Knowledge: Familiarity with laws, government regulations, executive orders and procedures relevant to health care.