Economic Evaluation and Health Technology Assessment

The relevance of Health Technology Assessments (HTAs) for market access, pricing and reimbursement of health technologies has in-creased continuously over the last decades. Conventional HTAs predominantly rest on two pillars: an evaluation of clinical effectiveness drawing on well-established principles of evidence-based medicine (EBM), and an attempt to determine the “value for money” offered by interventions using (some sort of) economic assessment.

Yet the approaches adopted by HTA agencies to assess “value for money” vary greatly. This variance can hardly surprise as issues related to access to health care represent an area permeated with ideologically charged controversy. Unfortunately, many contemporary courses in health economics do not address the background of this variance. In the absence of a critical appraisal of the merits and the shortcomings of conventional health economic methods, however, neither their correct application nor a contribution to the search for improved or alternative evaluation paradigms can be expected.

Thus, the Heidelberg Health Economics Summer School has been established to contribute to closing this gap, addressing the strengths, weaknesses, and potential of alternative economic evaluation para-digms, ranging from cost benefit analysis (CBA) and cost utility / effectiveness analysis (CUA/CEA) to more recently advocated social cost value analysis (CVA). Topical country-specific HTA case studies will be used to illustrate the policy relevance of these concepts, addressing examples such as ultra-orphan drugs, cancer and end-of-life treatments, as well as “personalized medicine”.

Course leader

Professor Michael Schlander

Target group

Anyone interested in the use of economic evaluation in the context of regulation of market access, pricing and reimbursement of medical technologies, especially
* Physicians and pharmacists
- in charge of hospitals or hospital departments
- involved (or interested) in health care policy-making
* Professionals
- in HTA institutions
- in payer organizations
- in the biopharmaceutical, medical device, and related industries
- involved in making health care policy decisions

Course aim

To understand the strengths, weaknesses, and potential of alternative economic evaluation paradigms, ranging from cost benefit analysis (CBA) and cost utility / effectiveness analysis (CUA/CEA) to more recently advocated social cost value analysis (CVA).
To understand practical application and policy-relevance of these concepts, using country-specific HTA case studies, including examples such as ultra-orphan drugs, cancer and end-of-life treatments, as well as “personalized medicine”.

Fee info

EUR 3990: course fee, excluding VAT, as applicable
EUR 630: conference package, excluding VAT, as applicable

Scholarships

There are reduced rates available for participants from not-or-profit and public organizations / government agencies.