economics health insurance

Overview:

There is a profusion of new medical technologies that have the potential to fundamentally alter the relationship between consumers and providers. Many of these are wireless, such as smart phone apps or attachments, allowing consumers to monitor aspects of their health and/or transmit the information to providers. Many allow so called “point of care diagnostics”, meaning that they are used without the need to have the consumer or patient travel to a clinic or other health care site. They can be used at remote sites, such as in rural areas or in developing countries. Providers are assisted with smaller, more sophisticated devices for diagnosis and monitoring.

The potential benefits of these advances are enormous. But there are downsides as well. Simply generating information, if it is not used to actually improve health, may do more harm than good. Many of the apps and technologies are “developed in silicon valley for the users in silicon valley”. In other words, they may appeal to techies and to those with more access to sophisticated care, but are unavailable or not even applicable to the health care needs of the majority of the population.

Watch the video:

Video: The empowered you: How healthcare is evolving with technology. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuwMPataXtA

After watching the video, your assignment is to select one health care technology that you believe will have the substantial impact over the next 5-10 years. It can be one described in video, or it can be one that you know of or learn about that is not in the video. Describe the technology and give your explanation for why it will be so important. You will have to find some sources from your own research to complete this assignment.

I am using technologies in the broadest sense of the term, from smart phone apps to devices for use in remote areas of the world. In other words, don’t feel limited in your choice.

The length of the submission depends primarily on the extent to which graphs, tables, figures, references and other supplemental material are used. The narrative portion alone should be between 3-4 pages double spaced. Figures, tables, graphs, references are additional. Make sure you have legends to the figures and tables so that they can be interpreted without needing to refer back to the text.

Finally, you should speculate on the potential impact of this technology on health care spending, from the perspective of consumer, payers, and providers.

Your submission should consist of the following sections:

1) Synopsis/abstract of your submission. This should be one short paragraph.

2) Introduction and background. Clearly state the one service area you are investigating, why it is of interest to you, and any background information that sets the stage for your analysis.

3) Methodology: Describe the methodology you used to do your analysis. At a minimum, this will outline (very succinctly) your use of the spending explorer and the complimentary sources you searched.

4) Data: This is the main substance of the assignment. Your analysis should include past spending trends as well as projections for the trajectory of future spending. Graphs or tables (excel or other formats are fine) and most explanatory, especially when coupled with narratives describing the material shown. Data should be organized under sub-headings, with narrative explanations of your findings. Figures and tables should have legends, and be cited in the text. Downloading/copying figures and tables directly from the spending explorer is appropriate, but 100% credit will require graphs, tables and/or narratives from other source material.

5) Summary and Conclusion: Summarize your findings and interpret them in the context of your introduction and background section.

The length of the submission depends primarily on the extent to which graphs, tables, figures, references and other supplemental material are used. The narrative portion alone should be between 3-4 pages double spaced. Figures, tables, graphs, references are additional. Make sure you have legends to the figures and tables so that they can be interpreted without needing to refer back to the text.

Evaluation Criteria and Grading Rubric

The grading of this assignment will be based on three criteria: analysis (40%), interpretation (40%), and mechanics (20%). In each aspect, you should follow the assignment instructions closely. The grading rubric is as follows.

Criterion	100% Credit	80% Credit	50% Credit or less
Analysis (40%)	Complete analysis of trends in magnitude and sources of funding for one service area based on the health care explorer site, and additional supporting data from at least two other sources, with graphs and tables to illustrate findings.	Complete analysis of trends in magnitude and sources of funding for one service area, with minimal supporting data from other sources limited use graphs and tables to illustrate findings.	Incomplete analysis of trends in magnitude and sources of funding for one service area, with no additional supporting data from other sources.
Interpretation (40%)	Goes beyond material on health care spending explorer to explain and interpret changes over time.	Gives cogent summary of trends in magnitude and source of funds, with some level of interpretation.	Response limited to describing trends, without additional interpretation.

Mechanics (20%)

Spelling and grammatical errors are minimal. Organization of ideas is clear and sources are cited where appropriate. Communication is very professional and polished. Graphs, tables and/or other supplemental material illustrate points clearly, are cited in the text, and have explanatory legends.

There are a number of spelling and grammatical errors. Organization of ideas is fairly clear and usually sources are cited where appropriate. Communication is fairly professional and polished. Graphs, tables and/or other supplemental material are included.

There are a significant number of spelling and grammatical errors. Organization of ideas is unclear and sources are not cited where appropriate. Communication is not professional and polished. No use of graphs, tables and/or other supplemental material.