Health economics training, education and development programs in WA

The Graduate Certificate in Health Economics offered by Curtin University is a first for WA and is designed for individuals who are looking to further their professional development in the areas of health economics and its application to industry needs such as policy development and research translation across the health and government sectors. The course is taught by leading health economists who are actively undertaking research and with expertise across health economic evaluation, health care utilisation, research translation, policy development and health system performance.

Other courses that offer health economic options include:

• Curtin University Master of Health Administration, Graduate Certificate in Health Administration, Graduate Certificate in Big Data and Digital Health
• Murdoch University, Post-graduate courses in Health Administration, Policy and Leadership
• The MBA at UWA now includes a health stream

The health economics team at the School of Population and Global Health, UWA are active in the research areas of economic evaluation of healthcare, the economics of well-being and economics of the medical and public health workforces. The health economics group collaborates widely with economists, clinicians and health researchers within Australia and internationally.

These courses are all targeted to equip recent graduates and those health professionals wishing to learn more around health system, policy and economics with a theoretical basis and analytical skills in economics, governance, epidemiology and health law to enhance an understanding of health challenges.

There is a persistent demand for health economics expertise in Australia. To mitigate some of these issues, universities in WA offer short courses in health economics, which are designed to introduce participants to health economic analysis and how health economics concepts can be incorporated into decision making across policy and clinical practice.

Curtin University currently offers bespoke training programs – targeted to broaden the skills base for professionals. These include compact master classes, seminars, bespoke training programs and postgraduate courses. The latter workshops are primarily tailored to suit staff who are responsible for departmental budgets, strategic directions including allocation of resources, and those in the health sector interested in learning how health economics can support decision making across policy and clinical practice, whilst obtaining optimal patient health outcomes.

At Murdoch University, training opportunities in health economics includes a short course in health economics and finance – usually offered in the summer or winter months. The course introduces students to key frameworks and principles of health economics.

The School of Population and Global Health offers an intensive, five-day workshop on the economic evaluation of healthcare programs. This workshop is led by Dr Ian Li, as well as health economists from other WA universities. The economic evaluation workshop can be taken for credit towards a Master of Public Health degree at The University of Western Australia, or for professional development as a stand-alone module.

The Research Education and Training Program offers a short Health Economics: Application to Research online module. The module takes approximately 3 hours to complete and on completion, participants are able to receive a completion certificate. The aim of the RETProgram is to empower health research practitioners to improve the efficiency of the planning, design, implementation and translation of successful research that impacts on policy and practice. The training is provided online and free of charge (for WAHTN partner organisations) to ensure busy health practitioners throughout the state of Western Australia are able to access high-quality training.