Economic Models and Human Genomics

Overview

Key facts

This module explores the potential impact of genomic medicine and technologies on the healthcare system, its patients and their families. The health economic approach of economic evaluation methods will be used to demonstrate the potential costs and benefits of new clinical and technological approaches.Technological advances in the area of genomic medicine have led to new tests with major impact on improving disease diagnosis and effectiveness of treatments. However, the continuous growth in the use of genomic technologies has cost implications. Using established economic models it is possible to predict the costs of new treatments and assess benefits to patients in the context of the available resources for health care. In addition, this module will explore the factors that determine the effects of the rapid development of new technologies on health care systems covering the role and relative influence that government, doctors and the public exert in this process. These will be analysed to assess whether clients/patients are best served by current arrangements and whether people's health outcomes match reasonable expectations. Students will be encouraged to propose ways of tackling perceived shortcomings.

University of Birmingham's Economic Models and Human Genomics programme will teach you more about this topic.