This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Frick, K. D Articles by Walker, D. G Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Frick, K. D Articles by Walker, D. G

Economic welfare implications of differently structured vision care markets

¹ Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Health Management and Policy, Baltimore, MD, USA
² Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of International Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

Correspondence to:
Kevin D Frick, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management, 624 N. Broadway, Rm. 606, Baltimore MD 21205-1901, USA; kfrick@jhsph.edu

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

There are abundant examples of "economics of ophthalmology" articles in the peer-reviewed literature describing economic evaluations, that is cost–benefit and cost-effectiveness studies comparing the value of policies, guidelines or patient management options.^1–5 In health systems with severely limited resources, the ability to compare the value of the cost and outcomes of different policy options is critical. However, while this is not the only tool that economics provides, there are notably fewer examples of peer-reviewed articles that describe analyses of data related to eye care that test whether economic theory describes individual, provider or organisational behaviour.⁶

Economics provides a set of theories that provide an insight into how incentives that new policies or guidelines create will affect patient, provider and organisational behaviour. Projected behavioural changes can be used to assess the financial and public health impact of new policies and guidelines. One use of economics related to public health ophthalmology . . . [Full text of this article]