Newhouse(1982) 在其論文中便開宗明義指出，美國由於保險的普及以及國民在醫療方面的支出佔國民所得的比重日益增加兩項因素，使得近三十年束，經濟學界以醫療照護市場為研究對象的文獻越來越豐富。在國內，關於醫療照護市場的研究向來是公共衛生學者的天下，經濟學者甚少涉足此一領域。由於國民的醫療需求行為可視為人們經濟行為的一環，而全民健保政策的實施又己箭在弦上，以經濟學的角度來審視此一課題實有必要。本文嘗試以經濟學的研究方法來剖析消費者的醫療需求行為，希望這篇論文能收投石問路之效，引起更多經濟學者的關注，而共同為醫療經濟學效力。

本文首先說明Grossman(1972b) 如何以Becker(1965)的家計生產函數及人力資本理論兩大概念為基礎，建構出在其後廣為學者引用的健康需求模型。由於醫療照護實為的健康需求的引申需求，一般咸認為所有影響健康需求的因素，也會影響醫療照護需求。本文的第二個重點，乃逐一分析這些影響醫療需求的重要因素，如健康資訊、時間成本、保險、教育程度、家庭所得、性別、年齡及健康狀況等;並對相關的理論及實證文獻擇要作回顧整理。

最後，本文引用中央研究院經濟研究所謝啟瑞博士所作之「臺北市國民中小學學生家庭問卷調查」資料中之成人部份，用來實證分析個人一般性醫療需求行為，檢證到底是那些因素影響我國的醫療資源使用狀況，以及這些因素的影響方向。本文採用的實證模型為Heckman 的樣本選擇模型，實證結果發現，消費者所擁有的健康資訊程度對就醫機率及就醫次數多寡均有顯著的影響，顯示操控本國

醫療資源配置的機能中，健康資訊程度實為一不可忽視的因素。

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