ECO 605 Discussion 5.1: Economic Evaluation

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Discussion 5.1

The health ailment used will be Covid-19. The economic evaluation used for a new treatment of Covid-19 would be the Cost-Effective analysis. The formula for this analysis is (Cost2 – Cost1) / (Outcome2 – Outcome1) where 1 and 2 describe the alternative interventions (Hicks, 2021). There is not a single, agreed upon treatment regimen for Covid-19. Most providers in intensive care units give additional vitamins, minerals, steroids, electrolytes, breathing treatments, and other medications; however the doses, medication administration schedules, and the treatment regimens often vary from provider to provider or facility to facility. The current treatments for Covid-19 are not 100% agreed upon and can be extremely expensive depending on the prescribing provider. The Cost-Effective analysis helps determine the difference in costs vs. the difference in outcomes between two interventions. The outcome for the treatments of Covid-19 currently vary. With the different treatment regimens, there have been patients who recover and patients who have died.

The Cost-Effective analysis technique would work well because if a one time treatment for Covid-19 was to come out, this would be far cheaper than an inpatient stay at the hospital for two or more weeks while receiving a treatment regimen that is not a guarantee. The cost effective analysis would allow for the comparison of the new treatment’s price to the price of a patient’s hospital stay battling Covid-19.

This analysis technique could help identify inexpensive treatment options that have significant results, such as vitamin C and zinc daily tablets, since they help boost the immune system and are relatively inexpensive (Mayo Clinic, 2021).

The Cost-Effective analysis helps find methods to redistribute resources to achieve more (Hicks, 2021). It helps focus resources toward more cost-effective interventions. Ivermectin, a medication used to treat parasites commonly found in farm animals, has controversial opinions on whether it helps Covid-19 patients. If a new treatment were to arise that was proven to help Covid-19, then this analysis would help prove that Ivermectin should not be used due to its unproven benefits. Hospitals could redistribute resources and treat people with an evidence-based treatment rather than a skeptical treatment.

Using the Cost-Effective analysis would be helpful for the new treatment because when determining the effectiveness for the new treatment vs. previous treatments, lives saved would be the unit for measuring effectiveness. This is a straightforward measurement; was the patient’s life saved by the treatment or not.

This analysis method could also use the outcome measurement of Quality Adjusted Life Year or QALY. QALY represents the quality and quantity of life (Hicks, 2021). This is important because quality of life after the treatment is important when considering treatment options for Covid-19. The treatment option Remdesivir has been associated with damaging kidneys in some patients (Mayo Clinic, 2021). The Cost-Effective analysis could help determine if the costs and outcomes of particular treatments are reasonable regarding QALY.

References

Hicks, L. L. (2021). Economics of Health and Medical Care. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2021, December 4). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved January 27, 2022, from        https://www.mayoclinic.org/coronavirus-covid-19.

Discussion Guidelines

Initial Post

In your initial post, identify which economic evaluations you would use for a new treatment of a health ailment of your choosing. Assume that there are already existing alternative treatments for the same ailment. Be sure to include at least five reasons in support of the economic evaluation technique.

Response Post(s)

Follow up to at least two of your peers’ posts by offering constructive feedback on their posts.

Submission

Post your initial and follow up responses and review full grading criteria on the Discussion 5.1: Economic Evaluation page.