Publications (7) View all
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Article: Smarter elder care? A cost-effectiveness analysis of implementing technology in elder care.
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ABSTRACT: Whereas in most sectors, technology has taken over trivial and labour consuming tasks, this transformation has been delayed in the healthcare sector. Although appropriate technology is available, there is general resistance to substituting 'warm' hands with 'cold' technology. In the future, this may change as the number of elderly people increases relative to the people in the work force. In combination with an increasing demand for healthcare services, there are calls for efforts to increase productivity in the sector. Based on experience data from previous studies on information and communication technology efforts in the healthcare sector, we quantitatively assess the use of smart house technology and video visits in home care. Having identified healthcare providers, hospitals and relatives as the main affected groups, we show that smart house technology is cost-effective, even if only relatives gain from it. Video visits, which have higher implementation costs, demand effects on both relatives and health care providers in order to be a cost-effective tool in home care. As the analysis is purely quantitative, these results need to be complemented with qualitative effects and with more thorough discussions of the ethical, medical and legal aspects of the use of technology in home care.Health Informatics Journal 09/2011; 17(3):161-72. · 1.00 Impact Factor -
Article: Economic gains from electronic message exchange: the importance of working procedures.
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ABSTRACT: There are several cost-benefit evaluations of introducing new technology for administrative purposes in the health care sector. Whereas some of these recognise the importance of adapting the working procedures to the new technology, very few look into the consequences of delays in adaptation to the new technology. In this paper, we focus on the consequences of keeping old working procedures, although new technology is implemented. Based on on-site observations we have estimated the economic gains of implementing electronic message exchange in the health care sector depending on which working procedures are applied. Then we continue by using a dynamic cost-benefit analysis (CBA) in order to take into account that conversion to new working procedures takes place over time, and we demonstrate the loss in potential gains due to such a delay. Keeping working procedures fit to old technology when new technology is implemented may imply that only between 40 and 50% of the potential time savings (benefits) are realised. In a dynamic perspective, the keeping of double procedures for 10 years and more will jeopardise the economic gains for surgeries, whereas hospitals still may have an economic gain. The delay in conversion to new working procedures implies that only 50% of the dynamic net present value of the gains is realised. The longer it takes before the old procedures are abandoned the lower is the dynamic net present value of the gains. This is due to the discounting of future gains. These are all arguments for emphasising and putting resources into training and motivation programs for employees when new technology is being implemented. We have only considered quantifiable effects of electronic message exchange in the health care sector, and only for hospitals and surgeries.International Journal of Medical Informatics 09/2010; 79(9):658-67. · 2.41 Impact Factor -
Article: Public intervention in a transaction situation under varying interests of the intervening body
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ABSTRACT: Though there are economically based arguments for public intervention in negotiations between private agents, such intervention will often take place as a consequence of political interests. In this paper we discuss how varying political interests of an intervening body affect its intervention mechanism. We derive a unique Bayesian Nash equilibrium for a two-step, three-player game in which the optimal intervention mechanism (subsidies) and the optimal size of the traded good are decided.The paper has been motivated by the negotiations between a Russian processing plant, causing transboundary, polluting emissions, and Nordic companies offering technology which will reduce the emissions significantly. Nordic governments have intervened in the negotiations and offered subsidies, which is subtracted from the seller s price if trade takes place. Combining the theoretical results and empirical facts we conclude that the Norwegian government seems to have had stronger political interests in this case than did the Finnish government.Environment and Development Economics 01/2006; 11(03):393-409. · 0.67 Impact Factor -
Article: MEFEPO North Sea Atlas
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Article: Should environmental projects be subsidised? An empirical analysis
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ABSTRACT: Imperfect markets, asymmetric information and transboundary pollution are all characteristics that in most cases lead to inefficient “market” outcomes, and which thus are arguments for (public) intervention in the market. On the other hand, these characteristics also imply strategic behaviour by the economic agents, and then the effects of public intervention may be different from the traditional results of e.g. subsidies. The point of departure for this paper is the trading of an environmental project in a market with the above mentioned characteristics and where the pollution is transboundary. The trade is promoted by (foreign) authorities in that they offer a grant is trade takes place. We show that the effects of the grant strongly depend on the interests of the authorities, and that the subsidisation does not necessarily make the trading outcome more efficient.
