The Macroeconomic Effect, Research Paper Example

Macroeconomics is the study of the economy as a whole, which includes the study of the factors that affect performance, structure, behavior, and decision making (Blanchard, 2011). Microeconomics favors the study of individual markets and deals more with resource allocation. Although these are two distinct terms, it is important to note that they are closely related because individual markets impacts the economy as a whole and vice versa. Likewise, it is important to understand both macroeconomics and microeconomics when it comes to healthcare.

Nurses and other healthcare professionals do not typically view their job as a business, but it is important to consider that healthcare is not independent of the economy. It is a special service in this almost everyone requires it at some point in their life and that different health concerns will lead to a variety of treatment needs. In this sense, healthcare ties into microeconomics because it deals with the cost of individual treatments, interactions with insurance companies, and out of pocket costs. Other microeconomic factors include the need to reimburse healthcare staff, the production of healthcare equipment, and the supply and demand that dictates where hospitals and healthcare facilities will be placed (Garegnani, 1970).

Macroeconomic factors are related to healthcare primarily because they influence the type of care that people receive. In a good economy, more people are likely to get the number of office visits and treatments they require to get better. In a poor economy however, medications may be more expensive and healthcare service may not be adequate. This could result in longer wait times in hospitals, short staffed facilities, and employees who are required to work overtime. Clearly, a bad economy has a negative impact on the healthcare that people are able to receive.

References

Blanchard, Olivier (2011). Macroeconomics Updated (5th ed.). Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.

Garegnani P. (1970). Heterogeneous Capital, the Production Function and the Theory of  Distribution.Review of Economic Studies, 37(3).