There is a positive relationship between the health of a nation and its economic prosperity. However, in evaluating health care, economists typically concentrate on the economic impact only to the health (care) sector, which may mis-specify the social costs and benefits of a disease or intervention. This paper demonstrates the value of using a macroeconomic approach to modelling a major health problem, using the context of antimicrobial resistance and the application of the computable general equilibrium technique. This approach is described in detail and its 'added value' demonstrated in the case of AMR.