Demand in Health Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Demand in Health Care - Essay Example People, particularly those suffering from life threatening diseases, need treatment. Regardless of how much it costs or whether a patient can afford it with his income, the treatment is imperative. Demand is different. There are choices involved in decisions to buy services. For instance, a patient with an eye problem decides to forego an expensive eye surgery and opt to use eye glasses instead. The cost of the operation forces the patient to use a much cheaper alternative since the condition can also be remedied, at least up to a point that the condition does not lead to permanent blindness or some fatal complication. The previous example demonstrates the so-called demand curve. According to Getzen, "the demand curve shows how many patients are willing to buy at a current price and also at other potential prices" (p.27). The model, which shows a downward slope, depicts how more people are inclined to purchase goods and services as its cost drops down. Here, it is clear that purchase decisions or demands are determined by the price. But price, in purely economic terms, is not the only factor involved in demand. The manner by this variable factor in peoples decisions is also driven by the concept of scarcity and value, which is determined by the quantity and quality of and need for the product or service. In my experience, demand always figure prominently in peoples healthcare decisions. Patients are often free to choose from different doctors according to cost, value and even cultural considerations. This is because there is no scarcity of professionals. Elastic demand could emerge in this situation. Doctors could lower their prices so that demand is stimulated. However, the choice is constrained for those doctors with rare specializations such as those in rare genetic diseases. This is also true for anesthesiologists who do not have any close substitutes (Feldstein, 2011, p.29). There are areas wherein these specialists form a group, monopolizing