Problem
You are working in the healthcare industry and are assigned to make a presentation to the purchasing department about demand and supply. Demand and supply are important factors in healthcare policy and planning, distribution of resources, and supply of health services. This week, you are going to use Dr. Jones's pricing of services to illustrate how pricing affects the demand for services. The lower the direct price of a service, the greater the number of units of the service demanded by consumers. The cost of Dr. Jones's prenatal care determines the number of visits per year. At a cost of $200 per visit, patients visited 2 times; at $150, 3 visits; at $100, 4 visits; at $80, 5 visits; and at $50, 6 visits.
In a PowerPoint presentation with at least 15 slides, address the following:
1) Illustrate the effects of Dr. Jones's pricing on the number of visits using a demand curve.
2) Why do policy makers and planners study the demand for healthcare services?
3) What factors influence the demand for health services?
4) How would you measure quantity responsiveness to price change?
5) How would the demand for services affect supply of healthcare workers?