The paper investigates the efficiency of procurement for medical devices. Differentiation of products in this market, due to doctors' preferences for specific technologies, might reduce the number of suppliers and the potential positive impact of auctions relative to negotiations. Using a large...

We analyse the effect of competition on quality in hospital market with regulated prices, considering both the effect of free patient choice (monopoly versus competition) and increased competition through lower transportation costs (increased substitutability). With partially altruistic...

We investigate the effect of competition on quality in regulated markets (e.g., health care, higher education, public utilities) taking a differential game approach, in which quality is a stock variable. Using a Hotelling framework, we derive the open-loop solution (providers commit to an...

Background Despite the intrinsic value of scientific disciplines, such as Economics, it is appropriate to gauge the impact of its applications on social welfare, or at least –Health Economics’ (HE) case- its influence on health policy and management. Methods The three relevant features of...

This paper analyses whether or not tax subsidies to private medical insurance are self-financing by means of a structural approach. We construct a simulation routine based on a microeconometric discrete choice model that allows us to evaluate the impact of premium changes on the utilisation of...

Can extending social welfare expenditures promote economic growth? This issue has been discussed extensively, with some research pointing to net benefits while others find a net negative impact. Insight can be gained by careful analysis of several sub-questions. For example, for two countries...

Background: A recent study found fewer hospitalizations for congestive heart failure (CHF) patients receiving high-dose versus low-dose statin therapy. Objective: To examine the cost effectiveness of high-dose versus low-dose statin therapy in CHF patients. Methods: Two scenarios...

Strategies to change the existing mix of innovative and 'me-too' drugs are intended to increase societal value of a given investment in R&D by providing an incentive for firms to invest in drugs that are more likely to be clinically innovative. How can financial incentives be used to change this...

Background: Rituximab maintenance therapy was shown to significantly extend overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) in the pivotal EORTC 20981 trial. Objective: To assess the long-term costs and cost effectiveness of rituximab...