Courses

Your Introduction to Health Economics and Outcomes Research

What is health economics, and why is it important in healthcare?

Presenter(s): Kirk W Kerr, PhD

Program Date: 10 December 2025

Publication Date: 10 December 2025

Continuing Education Credits: Dietitian 0.75 CPEU

Course Description

Discover the fundamentals of health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) and how they can guide informed healthcare decisions. This program covers key concepts such as measuring disease burden, evaluating the value of interventions, and applying real-world evidence. Through practical examples in nutrition care, you’ll learn how HEOR complements clinical research to improve patient outcomes and optimize resource use.

Course Objectives:
  • Describe types of health economic evidence and their application.
  • Describe how health economic research measures the value of nutrition interventions.
  • Describe evidence of the health economic impact of nutrition interventions.
  • Describe how health economic evidence can inform healthcare decisions..
Key Takeaways:
  • HEOR helps allocate scarce healthcare resources by measuring disease burden and intervention value. 
  • Nutrition interventions like ONS and QIPs improve outcomes and reduce costs significantly. 
  • Real-world evidence and economic models guide practical, informed, and cost-effective healthcare decisions.

Performance Indicators: 5.2.6, 7.2.3, 8.4.6

Activity Code: 190802

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Related Questions:
  • What is health economics, and why is it important in healthcare?
    Health economics is the study of how scarce healthcare resources are allocated and the trade-offs faced by providers, patients, and institutions. It helps quantify the burden of illness and demonstrate the value of interventions, enabling decision-makers to make informed choices about resource use.
  • What methods are used to assess the value of nutrition interventions?
    Several methods can be used to assess the value of interventions, including:
    • Cost Analysis (CA): Estimates the costs of an intervention.
    • Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA): Compares costs and benefits in monetary terms.
    • Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA): Compares costs and outcomes of interventions.
    • Cost-Utility Analysis (CUA): A type of CEA using quality-adjusted life years (QALYs).
    • Budget Impact Analysis (BIA): Estimates the financial consequences of adopting an intervention.
  • How do we measure the economic burden of a disease?
    The measure of economic burden includes medical costs (hospitalization, clinician visits, medications, testing), non-medical costs (transportation, patient time, childcare), productivity losses (absenteeism, reduced productivity), and intangible costs (pain, suffering, emotional loss, social stigma).

Course Instructor Bio(s)

Kirk W Kerr, PhD

Senior Manager, Health Economics
Abbott Nutrition
Columbus, OH, USA

Kirk W Kerr, PhD, joined Abbott Nutrition’s Health Economics and Outcomes Research team in June 2019. While at Abbott, Kirk has researched the impact of nutrition-focused Quality Improvement programs in inpatient, outpatient, and surgical care settings. Before joining Abbott, Kirk worked in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research researching the impact of FDA policies on drug development, drug prices, and patient access to medicines. While at the FDA, he also provided economic support for the FDA’s Generic Drug User Fee (GDUFA) and Biosimilar User Fee (BsUFA) negotiating teams. He also worked as an economic consultant on antitrust and intellectual property matters. Kirk has a PhD and MA in Economics from Ohio State University, and BS and MA in Economics from the University of Missouri.

 

 

Category
CPEU Adult Healthcare Industry
Highlighted References:
  • Philipson T, et al. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2014;38(2 Suppl):5S-16S.
  • Snider JT, et al. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2014;38(2 Suppl):77S-85S.
  • Sauer AC, et al. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2019;43(7):918-926.
  • Jones B, et al. BMJ. 2019;364:K5408.
  • Sriram K, et al. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2017;41(3):384-391.
  • Watson K, et al. J Nurs Care. 2014;4(224). 
  • Sulo S, et al. Am Health Drug Benefits. 2017;10(5):262-270.
  • Kaiser MJ, et al. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2010;58(9):1734-1738. 
  • Hong K, et al. J Prim Care Community Health. 2021;12:21501327211017014.
  • Philipson T, et al. Am J Manag Care. 2013;19(2):121-128.
  • Clark RK, et al. Int Wound J. 2023;20(1):145-154.
  • Kaegi-Braun, et al. Clin Nutr. 2022;41(11):2431-2441. 
  • Wang, et al. BMJ Open. 2024;14(11):e086787.
  • Shafrin J, et al. Clinicoecon Outcomes Res. 2023;15:753-764.
  • Hendrickson NR, et al. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2022;104(9):759-766.

Abbott Nutrition’s Statement for Dietitian CPEUs:

This educational activity has been prior-approved by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). CDR credentialed practitioners will receive the specified continuing professional education units (CPEUs) for completion of this program/material.