Healthcare reform is analyzed from an economic perspective. First, the economic rationale for providing access to healthcare lies in the benefit from knowing that those without means would be able to access health services. However, this does not explain why they should be entitled to the same quality of service. In practice, even in high-income countries, patients who are willing and able to pay tend to have better access to specialist services. Secondly, the division of labor has not increased efficiency in healthcare because health services are provided by professionals who have autonomy. However, efficiency can be increased by standardizing the process with clinical pathways and shifting service delivery from physicians to nurses and technicians. Thirdly, cost-effectiveness analysis is being used to making decisions on listing pharmaceutical products in the national formulary, but pricing and prescribing have continued to be made idiosyncratically. Lastly, Japan’s healthcare system is analyzed based on this framework.
Mahler H. The meaning of "health for all by the year 2000". World Health Forum. 1981;2(1):5-22.
Barasa EW, Molyneux S, English M, Cleary S. Setting healthcare priorities at the macro and meso levels: a framework for evaluation. Int J Health Policy Manag. 2015;4(11):719-732. doi:15171/ijhpm.2015.167
Culyer AJ. Is medical care different? In: Cooper MH, Culyer AJ, eds. Health Economics. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books; 1973. p. 49-74.
Thorlby R. England in International Health Care Systems Profile. England: Commonwealth Fund; 2020.
Durand-Zaleski. France in International Health Care System Profiles. France: Commonwealth Fund; 2020.
Hirsh F. The Social Limits to Growth. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul; 1977.
Smith A. An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Academia.edu; 1776
Lawal AK, Rotter T, Kinsman L, et al. What is a clinical pathway? Refinement of an operational definition to identify clinical pathway studies for a Cochrane systematic review. BMC Med. 2016;14:35. doi:1186/s12916-016-0580-z
Shiroiwa T, Noto S, Fukuda T. Japanese population norms of EQ-5D-5L and health utilities index mark 3: disutility catalog by disease and symptom in community settings. Value Health. 2021;24(8):1193-1202. doi:1016/j.jval.2021.03.010
Ikegami N. Achieving universal health coverage by focusing on primary care in Japan: lessons for low- and middle-income countries. Int J Health Policy Manag. 2016;5(5):291-293. doi:15171/ijhpm.2016.22
Ikegami, N. (2024). The Economic Rationale for Healthcare Reform. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 13(1), 1-3. doi: 10.34172/ijhpm.8441
MLA
Naoki Ikegami. "The Economic Rationale for Healthcare Reform", International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 13, 1, 2024, 1-3. doi: 10.34172/ijhpm.8441
HARVARD
Ikegami, N. (2024). 'The Economic Rationale for Healthcare Reform', International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 13(1), pp. 1-3. doi: 10.34172/ijhpm.8441
VANCOUVER
Ikegami, N. The Economic Rationale for Healthcare Reform. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 2024; 13(1): 1-3. doi: 10.34172/ijhpm.8441
)
