Jonathan Siverskog

Analyst

When is a new drug too expensive? The topic of my research is the opportunity cost of health spending. How much health could have been gained, had we instead devoted the resources to, e.g., reducing waiting lists or providing more hospital beds?

Opportunity cost in economic evaluation

The resources available for the public provision of health care are not unlimited. Cost-effectiveness evidence on new healthcare interventions can help us prioritise in order to use scarce resources wisely, but to interpret cost-effectiveness evidence, it may appear as if we must make trade-offs between life and money.

This is not so. If we are able to quantify the health improvements that resources would or could have generated in alternative use, a decision about providing or denying treatment can instead be framed as a trade-off between health gained and health forgone.

In my research, I seek to provide a more robust basis for this way of reporting and interpreting cost-effectiveness evidence.

Education

B.Sc. in Political Sciences, 2013
M.Sc. in Economics, 2015
Ph.D. in Medical Sciences, 2022

Teaching

I teach econometrics at the Master Programme in Economics.

Publications

2023

2022

News

Higher mortality rates linked to hospital bed shortages

The number of hospital beds is linked to mortality rates, according to a Linköping University study. Researchers estimate that reducing the number of hospital beds by three corresponds to approximately one more death per year.

Research affiliation

Centre for Medical Technology Assessment

We conduct method development, disseminate research findings and assess methods and procedures within healthcare with respect to medical, social, economical and ethical consequences.

Organisation

Unit of Health Care Analysis

The Unit of Health Care Analysis conducts research in three main areas: health economic assessment, decision making in health care, and priority setting in health care and social services.