We can apply the microeconomic terms and concepts to prepare the health care industry in terms of medicine pricing under different market conditions. This paper focus on the summary of different articles concerning market conditions specifically issues relating health care industry. The integration and analysis of economic principles to the context of healthcare industry is significant in institutional factors such as hospital management and quality healthcare, however many economic theories and concepts needs to be adapted or extended to fit and accommodate institutional features.
Past and current issues concerning health care are constantly focusing on the cost of service including medicine expenses of consumers. The health care expenditures have increase all over world. The journal article entitled “In Applied Microeconomics: Health Care, Immigration, and Urban Problems” published by El Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios de la Salud de la Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Nicaragua (CIES-UNAN), the United States of America has the largest expenditures because of higher base and higher growth rates.
It is a question if the United States needs to be involved in giving solution to the problem of health care expenditure and benefits. Even though there are lots of problem and challenges facing the government, it is their duty and responsibility to provide assistance, appropriate policies and health care programs for the benefit of their people across the country.
According to the journal article by Duncan Thomas & Elizabeth Frankenberg entitled “Health, nutrition and prosperity: a microeconomic perspective” published by the World Health Organization in 2002, there are many evidences pertaining nutritional status that strongly affects individual productivity in their work. However even though there are experimental and observational studies conducted, still the relationship is not entirely clear. Experimental studies conducted to prove that health condition can affect labor performance using the theory that nutritional deficiency like iron deficiency, reduces individual’s work capacity.
Secondly, the observational studies conducted suggest that nutritional status such as body and height mass index are important indicators of success economically. In the book Health Economics by Paul J. Feldstein published in Thomson Learning (2005), he focused on the new and comprehensive Pharmaceutical Industry relating to the structure and performance of the Pharmaceutical industry including importation and re-importation of drugs and most especially drug pricing.
Professor Paul Feldstein quoted the following in his book Health Economics (2005): The pharmaceutical industry is under intense public scrutiny for its prices, profit, marketing expenses and the safety of new drugs. Professor Feldstein stressed out that in order to improve Pharmaceutical industry the government should provide overview and analysis of the industry and public policies necessary in order to identify factors affecting its performance.
References
El Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios de la Salud. (2008). In Applied Microeconomics: Health Care, Immigration, and Urban Problems. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Nicaragua. Retrieved from http://www. cies. edu. ni/documentos/red/doc/cap-03/microeconomia%20en%20salud. pdf Feldstein, P. (2005). Health Economics, 6th Edition. New York: Delmar Publishers Inc. Frumkin, N. (2000). Guide to economic indicators. New York: M. E. Sharpe. O’Connor, D. E. , & Faille, C. C. (2000). Basic economic principles: a guide for students. Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group.