Please write a discussion post reply of 300 words to the following post. Must ha
Please write a discussion post reply of 300 words to the following post. Must have at least 2 scholarly peer-reviewed sources using APA format. Sources must be within the last 5 years. Must include one biblical integration that is NOT to be listed as a resource. Original post instructions are listed here: Discuss 2 ways healthcare leaders use behavioral economics to improve decision-making.
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Rebecca Webster
YesterdayOct 9 at 8:06pm
Decision-Making by way of Behavioral Economics
Determining whether to seek medical care can be a difficult decision, and in certain situations, it may be safer for patients to stay at home. Just as healthcare leaders can use behavioral economics to encourage patients to opt for necessary in-person care, they can also utilize it to provide treatment to vulnerable patients in their homes. This becomes particularly vital when the risk of contracting a serious case of COVID-19 from exposure at a medical facility outweighs the benefits of delaying treatment or adopting a watchful waiting approach.
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an opportunity for healthcare leaders to explore remote technologies that are cost-effective and help reduce non-essential in-person visits. While innovative medical solutions are often hindered by regulatory constraints and conflicting interests, the current crisis has emphasized the importance of a “digital first” approach in delivering healthcare (Schwartz & Holzwarth, 2021). By making remote care the primary method of treatment, similar to defaults that convey normative information about the best course of action, healthcare providers can minimize risks and improve overall patient outcomes. Proverbs 17:27, “He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.”
A key area of interest in behavioral economics focuses on studying how individuals make choices when faced with uncertain circumstances, and the inherent discomfort that arises from such situations. In contrast to risk, which can be quantified to some extent, uncertainty refers to scenarios where people lack knowledge about the potential outcomes or the probability of their occurrence. Within the context of medical decision-making, uncertainty is pervasive as the probabilities associated with disease detection and treatment remain largely unknown (Lee, 2019). Similar to risk, the uncertainty surrounding medical choices is particularly distressing due to our natural tendency to envision negative outcomes, which often hampers the accuracy of our judgments. Even in ordinary circumstances, uncertainty can be deeply unsettling, often driving individuals to allocate more financial resources, time, and even endure more physical pain in order to avoid decisions with uncertain outcomes that cannot be easily evaluated based on the likelihood of occurrence.
Other Ways
Behavioral economics incorporates a comprehensive range of perspectives and tools from various social sciences, including psychology, sociology, and politics, to pursue its objectives. This versatile nature allows behavioral economics to be applied to diverse personal and public sectors such as finance, public choice, and marketing. Given the health care sector’s unique characteristics of limited and uneven information, as well as frequent critical and immediate decision-making, it has emerged as a promising ground for behavioral economics research. While a few studies have started examining health care and clinical decision making, there remains a need for further research to explore the applications and impact of behavioral economics in medical care and practice. Consequently, this article aims to contribute to existing behavioral economics research through an interdisciplinary literature review that integrates medical studies and behavioral economics.
A significant amount of research has been undertaken to address the disparity and unravel the complex problems that have posed intellectual hurdles. One approach has been to seek fresh perspectives from diverse disciplines, particularly psychology, and assimilate these novel insights into the field of economics (Carminati, 2020). This amalgamation between the realms of economics and other social sciences has given rise to the field of behavioral economics. Although initially deemed as a peripheral discipline, behavioral economics has witnessed substantial growth in recent times. Because of the aforementioned, behavioural economics may offer some concepts and analytical tools that lend themselves well to applications in the health care sector. The intrinsic features of the health care sector make it a fertile ground to apply behavioural economics theories, especially considering the undeniable importance of medical care in individuals’ human lives, and the much reduced rationality of health care actors in their everyday clinical practice
References
Carminati, L. (2020). Behavioural economics and human decision making: Instances from the health care system. Health Policy, 124(6), 659-664. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2020.03.012Links to an external site.
King James Bible. (2017). King James Bible Online. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Links to an external site.
(Original work published 1769)
Lee, R. H. (2019). Economics for Healthcare Managers (4th ed.). Health Administration Press. https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781640550490Links to an external site.
Schwartz, J., & Holzwarth, A. (2021). Insights from behavioural economics for effective leadership during the pandemic. BMJ Leader, 5(3), 214-218. https://doi.org/10.1136/leader-2020-000405Links to an external site.
