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Telemedicine in Dermatology pp 167–185Cite as

Health Economics

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Abstract

Economics is about making choices when resources are limited. Health economics applies economic theory to the specialized area of health care and provides, amongst other things, a set of tools to weigh the cost and consequences of alternative courses of action. This focus on cost and consequences is critical, health economics does not focus solely on cost, instead it is the impact an investment has on patient outcomes compared to the alternative/s. Understanding the difference between the tools that are available in the health economics tool box and using them appropriately to answer a specifically and carefully developed research question is a critical first step. The overall aim of investigating the cost and consequences of alternatives is to provide evidence to decision makers that investment in a particular alternative is a good one. Providing evidence of the value of investment in a teledermatology alternative is essential information to justify and foster the uptake of new and innovative ways to provide dermatological services.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Online Health, Level 3, Foundation Building, Royal Children’s Hospital, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Mark E. Bensink

  2. Centre for Applied Health Economics, School of Medicine, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Mark E. Bensink & Paul A. Scuffham

  3. Research and Economic Assessment in Cancer and Healthcare (REACH) group, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA

    Mark E. Bensink

  4. Centre for Online Health, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Anthony C. Smith

  5. Queensland Children’s Medical Research Institute, The University of Queensland, Royal Children’s Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Anthony C. Smith

Authors
  1. Mark E. Bensink
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  2. Paul A. Scuffham
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  3. Anthony C. Smith
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mark E. Bensink .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Princess Alexandra Hospital, The University of Queensland School of, 199 Ipswich Road, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, 4102, Queensland, Australia

    Hans Peter Soyer

  2. Department of Dermatology, Medical University Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20, Vienna, 1090, Austria

    Michael Binder

  3. Royal Children's Hospital, Centre for Online Health, The University of Queensland, Corner of Bramston Terrace & Herston Road, Herston, 4029, Queensland, Australia

    Anthony C. Smith

  4. School of Medicine - Princess Alexandra, Dermatology Research Centre, The University of Queensland, Ipswich Road 199, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Elisabeth M.T. Wurm

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© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Bensink, M.E., Scuffham, P.A., Smith, A.C. (2012). Health Economics. In: Soyer, H., Binder, M., Smith, A., Wurm, E. (eds) Telemedicine in Dermatology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20801-0_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20801-0_19

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-20800-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-20801-0

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