Irrationality in Health Care: What Behavioral Economics Reveals About What We Do and Why

by Douglas Hough

The health care industry in the U.S. is peculiar. We spend close to 18% of our GDP on health care, yet other countries get better results―and we don't know why. To date, we still lack widely accepted answers to simple questions, such as "Would requiring everyone to buy health insurance make us better off?" Drawing on behavioral economics as an alternative to the standard tools of health economics, author Douglas E. Hough seeks to more clearly diagnose the ills of health care today. A behavioral perspective makes sense of key contradictions―from the seemingly irrational choices that we sometimes make as patients, to the incongruous behavior of physicians, to the morass of the long-lived debate surrounding reform. With the new health care law in effect, it is more important than ever that consumers, health care industry leaders, and the policymakers who are governing change reckon with the power and sources of our behavior when it comes to health.

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction, Science, Business

311 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 2013

Reviews

[Karen Prive · Rating 2 out of 5]

Almost everyone I know agrees that the American healthcare system is in shambles. Dr. Hough helped me understand better the drivers that have made it nearly impossible to change the system we have. He argues that behavioral economics is a better lens to study health care policy and decisions, rather than standard economic theory, by introducing us to some of the theories of behavioral economics and then applying those theories to apparent anomalies that standard theory cannot explain.

Dr. Hough's arguments seem sound, for the most part; but frankly, he is in need of a good editor. While the beginning of the book was very well written, as it proceeded it became much more disjointed. He frequently referred to obscure references from the beginning of the book without much information about the theory he was referencing, expecting the reader to clearly remember the concept he was referring to by the name of the theorist or researcher referenced. I found this very frustrating and nearly abandoned the book because of it.

So yes, I enjoyed being introduced to ideas that were new to me and being challenged to think more deeply about what may be needed to change our healthcare decisions, but the writing itself was rather poor.

[David Nickelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good basic application of BE to specific health care situations; it covers patients, providers and payors, and brings life how the misalignment and lack of transparency between these players is only exacerbated by some of the biases and cognitive limitations that BE has identified. If you work in the healthcare space, or are tasked with driving behavior change with any of theses groups, I recommend at least skimming this book to understand which BE learnings should be considered when working with each of them.

[Micaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

In places too detailed and in other places to elementary. I skimmed through and then missed the book discussion group I was reading it for! Anyway, I should probably go back and read it with more attention (it is my field, now). But am currently swamped by my reading list.

[Adam Gross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-structured application of behavioral economics to vexing healthcare issues. Well written and mostly accessible.