Volume 34, Issue 1 (2-2020)                   Med J Islam Repub Iran 2020 | Back to browse issues page


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Olivera M. Opportunity cost and COVID-19: A perspective from health economics. Med J Islam Repub Iran 2020; 34 (1) :1237-1239
URL: http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/article-1-6864-en.html
Parasitology Team, National Institute of Health, Bogotá, DC, Colombia & Health Economics Program, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, DC, Colombia , molivera@ins.gov.co
Abstract:   (2306 Views)
The substantial increase in demand for medical care in intensive care units (ICUs) caused by the recent appearance of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has placed severe pressure on hospital beds. Although countries have intensified efforts to contain or delay the spread of COVID-19, they must prepare to cope with the growing demand for critical care inpatient beds or risk being overwhelmed by the pandemic. The subject of this paper is the COVID-19 pandemic and the opportunity cost from the perspective of health economics using the supply and demand model of hospital bed days in ICUs. In this context, it has been seen that there is an excess demand for hospital beds that exceeds the supply of bed days provided by the health system, generating opportunity costs for patients who cannot be admitted to ICUs because beds are not available. Policymakers must take into account the notion of opportunity cost to ensure that scarce resources are used efficiently because patients with and without COVID-19 will be competing for the same ICU resources.
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Type of Study: Editorial | Subject: Epidemiology

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