Health Economics Essentials for Clinicians and Public Health

In this lecture, Dr. Ang Yee Gary introduces three foundational concepts in health economics: scarcity, opportunity cost, and efficiency. Through real-world examples from clinical care and health policy, you’ll learn how these ideas shape every healthcare decision — from allocating ICU beds to funding prevention programs.

You’ll also explore the difference between technical and allocative efficiency, and how economics can help navigate the trade-offs between efficiency and equity in health systems.

✅ After completing this lecture, students will be able to:

• Explain the concept of scarcity and why it matters in healthcare

• Define opportunity cost and recognize its role in clinical and policy decision-making

• Distinguish between technical and allocative efficiency

• Reflect on the trade-offs between efficiency and equity in health system design

In this lecture, Dr. Ang Yee Gary introduces the core concepts of demand and supply in the context of healthcare. You’ll explore what influences patient demand for services and what constrains the supply of care from providers. Real-world examples help explain how mismatches between demand and supply create waiting times, overuse, and underuse of healthcare resources.

By the end of the session, you’ll understand how demand and supply interact in the health system—and how health economics helps balance them efficiently and equitably.

In this lecture, Dr. Ang Yee Gary introduces how health-related goods and services can be classified as public goods, private goods, and merit goods—and why this matters for how healthcare is funded and delivered. You’ll also learn about search, experience, and credence goods, which describe how consumers perceive the quality of different health services.

These distinctions are essential in health economics because they inform policy choices such as subsidies, regulation, and whether a service should be delivered by the market or government.

In this lecture, Dr. Ang Yee Gary introduces the four main types of economic evaluation used in healthcare decision-making: Cost-Minimization Analysis (CMA), Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA), Cost-Utility Analysis (CUA), and Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA).

You’ll learn how each method compares healthcare interventions based on cost and outcomes, and when to use them in practice. With real-world examples and a summary table, this lecture makes the different evaluation types easy to understand and apply.

✅ After completing this lecture, students will be able to:

• Explain the purpose of economic evaluations in healthcare

• Differentiate between CMA, CEA, CUA, and CBA

• Identify appropriate use cases for each type of evaluation

• Interpret basic examples using natural units, QALYs, or monetary benefits

• Reflect on how to apply evaluation methods in real clinical and public health scenarios

Understanding Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA)
Instructor: Dr. Ang Yee Gary, MBBS MPH MBA

How do we decide if a healthcare intervention is “worth it”? This course demystifies Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA)—a practical tool used by clinicians, public health professionals, and policymakers to evaluate the value of medical interventions.

We cover the concept of incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), walk through a simple drug comparison, and break down how CEA is conducted in research and policymaking. You'll also gain insight into decision models, QALYs, and how thresholds are applied in practice.

Dr. Ang draws from published studies on diabetes, kidney disease, and sleep apnea to show how these methods influence real healthcare decisions in Singapore and beyond.

✅ What You’ll Learn:

• What CEA is and why it matters

• How to calculate and interpret ICER

• The steps involved in conducting a full cost-effectiveness analysis

• How CEA influences real-life policy and funding decisions

Lecture Title: How Healthcare is Paid For – Payment Models & Incentives

Duration: ~10 minutes
Level: Beginner to Intermediate

What You’ll Learn in This Lecture:

In this bite-sized lesson, you’ll gain a clear and concise understanding of how healthcare systems are financed through different payment models—and why these models matter. We explore the five most common models used globally, and the incentives they create for providers and health systems.

Covered Topics:

• The importance of healthcare financing

• Overview of five major payment models:

  1. Fee-for-Service (FFS)

  2. Capitation

  3. Salary

  4. Bundled Payments

  5. Value-Based Payments

• Key pros and cons of each model

• How payment systems affect cost, quality, and provider behavior

• Summary comparison table to reinforce understanding

By the End of This Lesson, You’ll Be Able To:

✔ Explain the differences between healthcare payment models
✔ Understand the incentives and risks associated with each model
✔ Recognize why countries may adopt hybrid approaches to healthcare financing

Healthcare Financing Systems: How Money Flows in Health Systems
Instructor: Dr. Ang Yee Gary, MBBS MPH MBA

How are healthcare services paid for? Why do some systems achieve better outcomes with lower spending? What role do financing mechanisms play in shaping access, efficiency, and equity?

This concise course provides a systems-level understanding of healthcare financing, combining clarity with real-world examples. Whether you’re a clinician, policy analyst, or student of health systems, this lecture will equip you with foundational knowledge on how healthcare financing works — and why it matters.

? What You’ll Learn

• The 3 fundamental functions of health financing: revenue collection, risk pooling, and purchasing

• Different models of funding healthcare (taxation, insurance, out-of-pocket)

• Provider payment methods and how they shape provider behavior

• The concept of strategic purchasing and value-based care

• Case study from Singapore

• Key takeaways for policy design and system improvement

?‍⚕️ Who This Course Is For

• Healthcare professionals and clinicians

• Public health officers and health policy students

• Professionals working in health financing, insurance, or government

• Anyone interested in how health systems are structured and sustained

? Course Features

• 15-minute expert-led video lecture

• Slides with voiceover script and case examples

• Downloadable resources

• Real-world policy insights from Singapore and global health systems