Opportunity cost is defined as what must be given up in order to do or obtain something; the highest-valued alternative that must be foregone; for example, the opportunity cost of taking the final exam may be missing out on a trip to Bermuda (Getzen, 2013). The New Oxford American Dictionary defines it as "the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen." Opportunity cost is a key concept in economics, and has been described as expressing "the basic relationship between scarcity and choice (Buchanan, 2008). Opportunity costs play a role in decision-making to ensure that scarce resources are utilized efficiently. Opportunity cost is not only monetary or financial but can be associated with loss of time, experiences
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Ganiats, MD, and Jennifer A. Kempster, MPhil describes the scenario in a patient’s visit to a health care provider and the use of clinical guidelines for treatment options. The authors are suggesting that it is not possible to follow the multitude of guidelines with the time constraints place upon medical care providers without opportunity costs to patients and providers. Thousands of clinical care guidelines are continually created, updated, and stored in national databases. These guidelines, based on research findings and expert opinions, are suggestions for management of specific diseases, disease groups or health risks (Theodore G. Ganiats & Jennifer A. Kempster, 2014). In an ideal world, all guidelines necessary to a patient’s health would be followed, but this requires the expenditure of care and resources, including the use of time by both the patient and provider (Theodore G. Ganiats & Jennifer A. Kempster, 2014). The question posed in this article is how to choose which guidelines to follow in one patient visit when the patient presents with multiple health issues. The time restraints placed on providers during the visit does not allow for review of all guidelines and the provider may have to choose which ones to implement. With the growing number of guidelines and a limited amount of time, not all guidelines can be put into effect. Furthermore, it is unrealistic to …show more content…
During a patient visit, both the patient and provider must decide on which health issues to discuss. The provider must also decide on what care to provide the patient within the limited time frame of the appointment. By introducing a new guideline, another may be dropped, resulting in the rationing of care. The discontinued care is the opportunity cost of implementing the new guideline. Even when a provider is able to follow all guidelines on a given patient and spends the extra time required to do so, opportunity cost still occurs. As a result of spending extra time with one patient, the provider will then have less time for other patients scheduled that
Ganiats, MD, and Jennifer A. Kempster, MPhil describes the scenario in a patient’s visit to a health care provider and the use of clinical guidelines for treatment options. The authors are suggesting that it is not possible to follow the multitude of guidelines with the time constraints place upon medical care providers without opportunity costs to patients and providers. Thousands of clinical care guidelines are continually created, updated, and stored in national databases. These guidelines, based on research findings and expert opinions, are suggestions for management of specific diseases, disease groups or health risks (Theodore G. Ganiats & Jennifer A. Kempster, 2014). In an ideal world, all guidelines necessary to a patient’s health would be followed, but this requires the expenditure of care and resources, including the use of time by both the patient and provider (Theodore G. Ganiats & Jennifer A. Kempster, 2014). The question posed in this article is how to choose which guidelines to follow in one patient visit when the patient presents with multiple health issues. The time restraints placed on providers during the visit does not allow for review of all guidelines and the provider may have to choose which ones to implement. With the growing number of guidelines and a limited amount of time, not all guidelines can be put into effect. Furthermore, it is unrealistic to …show more content…
During a patient visit, both the patient and provider must decide on which health issues to discuss. The provider must also decide on what care to provide the patient within the limited time frame of the appointment. By introducing a new guideline, another may be dropped, resulting in the rationing of care. The discontinued care is the opportunity cost of implementing the new guideline. Even when a provider is able to follow all guidelines on a given patient and spends the extra time required to do so, opportunity cost still occurs. As a result of spending extra time with one patient, the provider will then have less time for other patients scheduled that