Part I

1.Explain the different types of health valuation. Is it better to measure or to value?

Health valuation uses many methodologies to assess health interventions, outcomes, and investments.

These methods fall into two categories:
1. Monetary valuation assigns a value to health outcomes or interventions. CBA, CEA, and CUA are often used. Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) assesses health therapies' financial value to see if benefits outweigh costs. The cost-effectiveness of interventions is determined by the cost per health outcome, such as a life saved or a quality-adjusted life-year gained, by the CEA. CUA adds preferences for health outcomes, commonly measured by QALYs or DALYs, to CEA to assess health improvements (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, 2020)

2. Non-Monetary Valuation: This strategy evaluates health outcomes or interventions without assigning monetary values. This field uses qualitative research, stated preference procedures including contingent value and discrete choice trials, and multi-criteria decision analysis. Qualitative study on stakeholders' views and experiences with health initiatives might illuminate their value. Stated preference procedures involve surveys or hypothetical scenarios to gather health outcome or intervention choices. To evaluate health interventions and results, MCDA considers efficacy, equity, and acceptability.

Health evaluation requires measurement and valuation, which when combined can reveal the effects and value of health interventions. Measurement and valuation are both crucial components of health evaluation, and the combination of the two can result in a comprehensive understanding of the impact and value of various health interventions.

2. According to the marginal analysis, determine the optimal quantity of leg surgeries and briefly explain.

Optimal Quantity is where the Marginal Cost is equal to the Marginal Benefit

(Nishioka, & Tanaka, 2023)

1. Quantity 1: Initial scenario without incremental change analysis.
2. MB = 400, MC = 200. MB is greater than MC, hence surgery is beneficial.
3. 400 marginal benefit (MB) and 400 marginal cost (MC). MB = MC, indicating the ideal location.
4. Four units: MB = 200, MC = 150 (MB > MC, suggesting this procedure is beneficial).
5. Quantity 5: MB 100, MC 350. Since MB is less than MC, this is bad.
6. A product has 6 units with a marginal benefit (MB) of 60 and MC of 350. Since MB is less than MC, producing more units is unprofitable.
7. 40 MB and 250 MC. As MB is less than MC, it is not advantageous.

When marginal benefit equals marginal cost (MB = MC), three leg procedures are ideal.This argument maximises net benefits by ensuring that the increased benefit of another surgery equals the added cost.

3. Suppose that, in starting a new business, you leave your current job at a healthcare company that pays you $5,000 per month (including all benefits). After one year with no gains, the start- up starts making a profit of $6,000 per month. How long will it take you to be economically profitable, explain using the concept of opportunity cost in this context. (10 Marks, max 200 words)

We calculate the opportunity cost of the first year without sales to assess your business's economic viability. This cost represents your lost revenue from previous job. The annual total is $60,000. When your business covers operational costs and compensates for lost possibilities, it is economically profitable. After the first year, your firm is producing $6,000 in monthly profit. We will compute the time it will take these gains to exceed the $60,000 opportunity cost, which is economic profitability. Multiplying 12 months by $5000 per month yields $60,000. When your new business's earnings exceed $60,000 you reach economic equilibrium. To calculate the months needed to offset this opportunity cost using monthly profits:

Divide the overall opportunity cost by the monthly profit to find the break-even months.
Divide $60,000 in costs by $6,000 in monthly revenue to find the break-even time in months.
It takes 10 months to break even (Brewer, Garrison, & Noreen, 2022). Thus, the startup's income must increase by 10 months after the first year of unprofitability to make up for the missed opportunity. After the first year of no earnings, your firm will become economically profitable in 10 months, making enough money to cover the opportunity cost of leaving your $5,000-a-month job.

Part II

Explain the benefits of international cooperation against infectious diseases. Take the example of an infectious disease of your choice.

Introduction

The presence of contagious diseases presents significant challenges to the health of people all across the world, necessitating robust international cooperation. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light the importance of collaborative efforts in the areas of disease surveillance, investigation, and intervention. In this essay, the advantages of global collaboration in the fight against infectious illnesses are investigated, with a particular emphasis placed on COVID-19 specifically. Increasing disease surveillance, accelerating vaccine research and delivery, boosting global health security, further the analysis is supported by credible professional academic sources, and it is explained through the use of charts that compare and contrast salary statistics and other relevant metrics across a variety of countries (World Health Organization, 2020).

Analysis

The sharing of information and the early discovery of outbreaks, international collaboration helps improve disease monitoring. This is because it helps to improve disease surveillance. It is a very essential responsibility that both the World Health Organisation and the Global Health Security Agenda are accountable for coordinating monitoring operations on a global scale. Both of these companies are responsible for this responsibility. Networks, such as the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System , allows countries to work together on containment measures and share information about the progression of infectious illnesses.

It was made feasible for countries to immediately share information with one another during the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to the immediate alert system of the World Health Organisation (WHO). This allowed governments to impose travel restrictions and quarantine measures in order to prevent the risk of the virus spreading further. As shown in Figure 1, we have a visual representation of the correlation between global cooperation in monitoring and the reduction in the transmission rates of Covid-19 in a number of different locations.

There is a substantial advantage that can be attributed to international cooperation, and that is the acceleration of development in the creation and diffusion of vaccinations by the international community. Examples of collaborative projects that aim to accelerate vaccine development and ensure equitable distribution include the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and the Access to COVID-19 Accelerator, which are being programmes and are geared at ensuring that the distribution will be equal and will be achieved on a better level.

A level of global cooperation that had never been seen before was required in order to accomplish the quick development and implementation of COVID-19 vaccines. Because of the importance of making the procedure easier, this was an absolute must. There are a variety of distinct aspects that have an impact on the general improvement of health security around the world. The rise in international cooperation, which promotes equitable distribution of duties and resources, is one of the factors that contributes to the occurrence of this phenomena (Global Health Security Agenda , 2020) The efforts of the team have resulted in a number of successful outcomes being realised due to the efforts of the team. Among the outcomes that are covered in this category are the establishment of robust health care systems, the improvement of preparedness for unanticipated catastrophes, and the development of the capability to respond to emergencies in a prompt and efficient manner which being in terms with the element of the construction of a legislative framework, the International Health Regulations make it feasible for governments to take preventative measures in order to address and manage hazards to public health which was being accomplished through the adoption of international standards and fundamental objective of the framework that was designed was to facilitate the coordination of efforts to reduce the prevalence of communicable illnesses throughout the world.

The development phase of the vaccine was sped up as a result of this collaboration, which also made it possible to manufacture billions of doses. It was managed in a manner where the professionals will surely from a variety of nations collaborated in order to share their expertise and information regarding genomic data, along with the aspect of having a outcomes of the clinical trials, and the capabilities of the industrial sector. The fact that they worked together made it feasible for them to achieve this success (Global Health Security Agenda , 2020).

A number of different parties were able to more easily share medical resources, personal protective equipment (PPE), and healthcare personnel with one another as a result of the global collaboration that took place during the COVID-19 outbreak. The countries who possessed more advanced healthcare systems extended their support to other countries that had fewer resources by offering assistance to those countries by providing assistance to those countries. To demonstrate the advantages of solidarity in the midst of a worldwide health crisis, this was done in order to illustrate the benefits (World Health Organization, 2021).

Presents a comparison of the salaries of healthcare workers in various nations throughout the world. This comparison illustrates the differences that exist between the countries as well as the significance of ensuring that resources are distributed in an equitable manner.

Healthcare Worker Salaries Comparison

(World Health Organization, 2021)

Conclusion

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has demonstrated the critical importance of international cooperation in the fight against infectious diseases all across the world. The implementation of collaborative projects results in considerable benefits, including the enhancement of disease surveillance, the acceleration of vaccine research and distribution, and the improvement of global health security protections. In view of the growing global difficulties that are posed by new infectious illnesses, it is absolutely necessary to highlight the need of international collaboration in order to protect public health all over the world and successfully deal with any pandemics that may occur in the future.

Discuss the concept of externality in health care using the example of cigarettes smoking. Why is the UK government pushing to reduce consumption in the population? Using real examples show the different types of incentives that have been applied to decrease cigarettes consumption

Introduction

Within the realm of healthcare, the term "externalities" refers to the costs or benefits that have an effect on individuals or society as a whole, but are not taken into consideration when determining the monetary value of products or services. A famous example of a negative externality in the healthcare industry is the practice of smoking cigarettes. In this scenario, the expenses associated with smoking-related illnesses are typically carried by society rather than by the individuals who smoke cigarettes. Governments frequently intervene to address negative externalities by implementing legislation and providing incentives, with the goal of decreasing healthcare expenses and enhancing public health.

Analysis

Concept of Externality in Healthcare using Cigarette Smoking

Smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, and respiratory diseases, which have negative externalities in healthcare. These disorders raise healthcare costs, lower productivity, and lower quality of life for individuals and society. The UK government vigorously promotes cigarette smoking reduction for many reasons. Reducing smoking rates can save a lot of money on healthcare since fewer people have smoking-related ailments. It may also improve public health by reducing smoking-related diseases. Smoking reduction also supports the government's public health goals (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, 2020).

Incentives to Decrease Cigarette Consumption:

Increasing the amount of taxes that are levied on cigarettes leads to an increase in their price, which makes them less affordable and, as a result, discourages people from smoking them. In an effort to reduce the number of people who smoke, the United Kingdom has implemented a number of price increases for tobacco products during the course of its history.

Restrictions on advertising: Prohibiting or limiting the marketing and advertisement of cigarettes contributes to a reduction in the popularity and appeal of smoking, particularly among younger people. The implementation of smoke-free policies in public areas and workplaces reduces the amount of exposure to secondhand smoke, which in turn reduces the social acceptability of smoking, further they are intended to be made aware of the adverse effects of smoking by educational activities such as the placement of graphic warning labels on cigarette packs.

These labels aim to deter or help clients quit smoking. Aid in Quitting Smoking: Providing smokers with smoking cessation programmes, nicotine replacement drugs, and counselling boosts their chances of quitting (Global Health Security Agenda , 2020).

Plain packaging diminishes cigarette appeal and marketing efficacy by removing branding and attractive graphics. Age restrictions on tobacco sales prevent children from buying cigarettes and reduce smoking rates. By following nicotine, additive, and packaging rules, cigarettes can be made less addictive and less enticing.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the concept of externalities in the healthcare industry, particularly in connection to the consumption of cigarettes, highlights the significance of actions taken by the government to reduce consumption , through the implementation of a comprehensive policy, the government of the United Kingdom works to reduce the negative impacts that smoking has.

This approach incorporates a number of different measures, such as taxation, restrictions on advertising, smoke-free laws, educational programmes, support for quitting smoking, plain packaging, age restrictions, and product control. The goals of these programmes are to improve the outcomes of public health, reduce the costs of healthcare, and contribute to the development of a society that is more healthful in general.

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