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Researcher Examines the Effect of Economics on Health Care Policy and Technology
Research on health economics and policy
From 1996 to 1998, Victor R. Fuchs, Ph.D., conducted research in three areas:
- The means by which society establishes priorities for scarce health care resources.
- The allocation of resources for care of the elderly (for example, how and why the US health care system systematically over-invests in "high tech" care at the expense of "high touch" care).
- Medical technology (the role of technology assessment research and its connection to the diffusion of technology into practice).
Key Results
- Dr. Fuchs produced two books:
- The first book is entitled Who Shall Live? Health, Economics, and Social Choice — Expanded Edition.
- The second book, which Dr. Fuchs edited, is entitled Individual and Social Responsibility: Child Care, Education, Medical Care, and Long-Term Care in America.
- He published nine articles in journals such as The American Economic Review, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and Health Affairs; wrote an editorial for The Wall Street Journal; and was interviewed for an article in Business Week.
- He made 40 presentations to organizations such as the American Economic Association Annual Meeting (Presidential Address) and the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Funding
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) supported this project through a grant of $75,000 to the National Bureau of Economic Research, a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to promoting a greater understanding of how the economy works.