Location: Singapore
Date: 18-20 July 2008
Venue: Raffles City Convention Centre, Singapore

Organizer: The Pain Association of Singapore
Website: http://www.pain.org.sg/

PAS BSM 2008 Secretariat
c/o National Healthcare Group
Conference Management Unit-NHG College
Tel: +(65) 6496 6850
Fax: +(65) 6496 6853
Email: conferenceinfo@nhg.com.sg

Join us at this Biennial Scientific Meeting of the Pain Association of Singapore. The theme “Life Beyond Pain” has been specially chosen to bring about the awareness, education and understanding of the various impacts of pain and the latest management options. The topic “Pain” has increased greatly in this region and it’s widespread among the old and the young. Through the many workshops, forums and talks by our eminent local and overseas speakers, we certainly have prepared this coming meeting to be the best pain meeting to be held in Singapore.

A special basic science session will also update all of us on the latest basic science research on pain. Interventional workshop highlighting the latest interventional treatment options will cater to the many clinicians who are keen to hone their skills and complement their treatment strategies.

Abstract Submission Deadline: 30 April 2008
Online Registration and Abstract Submission: http://www.pain.org.sg/

Invited Speakers:

Prof Serdar Erdine
Chairman, World Institute of Pain, & Professor, Department of Algology, Medical Faculty of Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey

Prof Anthony Dickenson
Professor, Department of Neuropharmacology, University College, London, UK

A/Prof Michael Nicholas
Director, ADAPT Pain Management Programme, Pain Management & Research Centre, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia

Dr Mary Cardosa
Consultant Anaesthetist & Pain Management Specialist, Hospital Selayang, Selangor, Malaysia

Location: Rome, Italy
Date: 23 July 2008, 1pm to 5pm

Satellite Pre-Conference Session at the 7th European Conference on Health Economics: Rome July 2008

GENI was spearheaded at the European Health Economists Conference in 2006 with Terms of Reference to facilitate the effective integration of Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs), economic & clinical evidence into national decision making and clinical practice in the health sector, especially hospitals and primary care.

The 2007 IHEA GENI Satellite Session in Denmark provided a broad international overview and assisted in synthesizing methodological issues and developing key priorities for GENI’s Masterplan, with input from a broad range of stakeholders including economists, governments, the WHO, World Bank and OECD.

The GENI Satellite session at the 7th European Conference on 23 July 08 will expedite international developments by considering the progress on implementing the GENI Master plan and provide an opportunity for further input and participation by a broad range of countries, especially European. Board members will finalise the establishment the GENI committees that will report to the GENI Board through further stakeholder participation and will review time lines for key deliverables. We seek to further facilitate our collaboration with other economists, WHO, OECD, World Bank and possibly the Gates Foundation and thereby achieve GENI’s key aims and objectives. There is no charge for participation in this Satellite Session.

GENI’s Board members: Prof Frans Rutten (Erasmus University, The Netherlands); Prof Michael Drummond (York University, NICE, UK); Dr Kathryn Antioch (Health Economics and Funding Reforms, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Monash University, Australia); Prof Louis Niessen (Erasmus University, The Netherlands and John Hopkins School of Public Health, USA) Dr William Lawrence (Agency for Health Care Research & Quality USA)

For further information contact: Dr Kathryn Antioch, kantioch@yahoo.com.au Ph 0400-446-132.

Weblinks for Satellite Session

Weblinks for Registration

Location: Roma, Italy
Dates: 23-26 July 2008
Venue: Faculty of Economics, University of Rome, “Tor Vergata”
Theme: “Health Economics and Global Renaissance”

More information and Registration: http://www.echeroma2008.eu/

About the Faculty of Economics: The Faculty of Economics, University of Roma, Tor Vergata has got an approximate enrollment of 4,000 students. There is a library with more than 30 thousand catalogued monographs and over 2 thousand magazines and journals, a press office, a data processing center, a language lab, and a graduates’ work opportunity office which initiates a liaison between graduates and enterprises. The teaching, training and research activities are organized so they encourage an active and continuous student participation also via interaction with professors.

Conference Background: The present situation in the European economy is beset with problems of growth in an atmosphere of deep inequality; the latter being all the more accentuated and a source of concern when considering the delicate state of the global economy. As is universally recognised health is a fundamental component, if not the principle one, to further equitable and sustainable development. Not by chance, the majority of the health reforms in the nations of the old Europe dwell upon improvement of efficiency and of equity of their existing health service systems. While the health policies proposed have common features, they form an important part of the economic cultural and social contexts which are fundamentally different from one another: at the same time, it has been pointed out that there is a risk of some countries following routes which have already been demonstrated to be inefficient and/or inadequate by other health systems. The theme chosen for the ECHE Roma 2008 Conference raises the hope that health economics becomes the centre of a global process of renewal based on development stemming from new knowledge in the scientific field but also paying due attention to the experience and knowledge previously accumulated. No apology is made for parallel reference to the Renaissance which had its beginnings and its maximum splendor in Italy.

Our hope is that health economics will become ever more important for policy makers in the formulation their strategies, to the extent that (following the popular Roman tale) their hands may be confidently inserted into the Bocca della Verità, also present in our symbol, without fear of amputation at the wrist.

Conference themes and sections:

• Migration and health
• Health Insurance and methodological issues
• Economics in public health
• Economics of prevention
• Pharmaceutical economics
• Economic evaluation
• Mediterranean countries health systems
• Equity and health
• Efficiency of health care
• Welfare and welfarism
• Organizational models for health assistance

For all sections papers dealing with benchmarking across countries, regions and types of providers and payer systems are especially welcome.

Who should attend? The conference is of interest to a variety of groups and professionals within the larger industry of healthcare and healthcare delivery. These groups include medical and healthcare practitioners, researchers, academics, manufacturers, jurists, regulators, and consultants involved in all the phases of development, delivery, evaluation, risk management, research or teaching of healthcare services and of healthcare technologies management.

Included in this list, are also the manufacturers of medical instruments and healthcare equipment/ devices; pharmaceutical companies; biotechnology companies; providers of information and telecommunication technology for healthcare delivery; regulatory agencies; medical and healthcare professional groups and associations; insurance and other financial companies involved in healthcare; and faculty and students in programs in healthcare management, technology, policy, strategy, economics, and ethics.

Key Dates

• Deadline submission of abstract: 15 January 2008 (now closed)
• Notification: 1 March 2008
• Deadline submission of full paper: 16 June 2008
• Early bird registration: 15 February 2008

Proceedings and Publication: All the papers and posters will be published in the Conference Proceedings and in a CD-ROM distributed at the conference to all conference participants who register for the conference. In addition, a book based on papers presented at the Conference is also planned.

Contact: For additional information, please visit http://www.echeroma2008.eu/ or contact the conference coordinators at: f.mennini@uniroma2.it; spandonaro@economia.uniroma2.it and a.donia@uniroma2.it. Please send any abstract submissions to eche@healtheconomics.org

Location: Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
Dates: 27-29 August 2008

HERU are pleased to be hosting the 2008 joint meeting of the UK Health Economists’ Study Group and the Nordic Health Economists’ Study Group. The meeting will be held in at the University of Aberdeen, from the 27th to the 29th of August 2008.

Local organisers are:

• Academic: Marjon van der Pol
• Administrative: Heather Macintosh

More information to follow

http://www.abdn.ac.uk/heru/latest_news/meeting_2008.php

Location: London, England, UK
Date: 3rd September 2008
Venue: Royal Statistical Society

Registration is now open for the PSI one-day meeting on Health Technology Assessment. The meeting will take place on Wednesday 3rd September 2008 at the Royal Statistical Society, London. Please follow this link for a copy of the event flyer

This meeting aims to provide a background to HTAs, review important developments in this field of research, discuss methodologies often used and applied in HTAs, review some of the challenges of carrying out HTAs in clinical trials, together with pricing and reimbursement strategies. Reflections from the PSI HTA Expert group will conclude the day. It is intended that the meeting be suitable for both statisticians and health economists.

If you would like to attend then please click this link to register online

To benefit from the early bird price, please register before 3rd August 2008.

If you have any questions regarding the meeting, please don’t hesitate to contact the PSI office on 01625 267882 or email admin@psiweb.org

Kind Regards,

Jenny Butterworth
PSI Executive Office

Location: Bratislava, Slovak Republic
Dates: 18-19 September 2008

Venue: Hotel Crowne Plaza

This event will present a fresh and original perspective on communicating the cost- effectiveness of high-value drugs to key players and stakeholders in the former communistic countries of Central and Eastern Europe(CEE EU members, The Balkans and the former Soviet States).

The conference will be unique because it will be specifically focus on pricing and reimbursement of high value drugs in the CEE region. All participants will be exposed to the decision making processes of payers and other influential stakeholders in key markets and will achieve a clearer understanding of the different trends and reforms which will be taking place.

Meet and hear opinions from senior figures representing distinct stakeholder groups:

• Ministries of health and their advisors
• Ministry of Health Bulgaria-Head Expert
• OBIG-Austrian Health Institute-Health Economist
• Leading Pharmaceutical Companies
• Amgen-Medical Director CEE
• AstraZeneca-Medical Director, Leader for CEE Pricing&Reimbursement Group
• Communication
• Respected Doctors
• University Hospital Zagreb-Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Haematology
• Market Access Advocates
• Moscow Medical Academy-Professor of Healthcare Management Faculty
• Umbrella patient Association Slovenia-Founder
• Market Analysts
• The Economist Intelligence Unit-Senior HealthcareAnalyst
• Sanigest Health Solutions-President

and many more …

All attending will achieve a comprehensive understanding and complete picture of pricing and reimbursement models in key CEE countries. This will ensure the event’s attendees the ability to realize successful marketing strategies and to take market-access to the next level.

To access agenda or register, please follow the link:

https://www.nextlevelpharma.com/bookings/booking_form

or contact Andrea Valent at NextLevel Pharma
pricing@nextlevelpharma.com
Ph: +421 2 3266 0387

http://www.nextlevelpharma.com/

Location: Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Dates: 17-18 October 2008
Abstract submission deadline: 16 June 2008

Sponsored by the Lister Hill Center for Health Policy, University of Alabama at Birmingham

The purpose of this invitational conference is to present and promote active exchange and discussion of the latest health economics research among senior and junior economists. Meals and lodging will be provided. Transportation to Birmingham is the participants’ responsibility.

Ten papers will be accepted for presentation. The conference will consist of a full day of presentations on Friday, October 17 and a half-day of presentations on Saturday, October 18. Each paper will be allotted 60 minutes, including 40 minutes for presentation and 20 minutes for discussant comments and discussion from the floor. The number of participants in the conference will be limited.

For further information, please contact Michael Morrisey, (205) 975 -8966, or morrisey@uab.edu.

Steering Committee:

• W. David Bradford (Medical University of SC)
• Marisa Domino (University of North Carolina)
• Alvin Headen (North Carolina State University)
• Richard Lindrooth (Medical University of SC)
• Michael Morrisey (University of Alabama at Birmingham)
• Christopher Ruhm (University of North Carolina at Greensboro)
• Frank Sloan (Duke University)

Location: NewcastleGateshead, England, UK
Dates: 29-31 October 2008
Venue: Sage Concert Hall

“Managing scarcity in health care: theory-to-practice and practice-to-theory”

In October 2008, the conference of the International Society for Priorities in Health Care returns to the UK, this time to the north-east of England. Formed in 1996, following the first international conference on this topic held in Stockholm, the purpose of the Society is to provide a forum in which researchers and practitioners involved in priority setting can exchange ideas and experience. Particular importance is placed on: getting research into practice; learnings across poorer and richer nations; and encouraging practitioners to learn about approaches to priority setting and researchers to learn from real practical experience.

Much has changed in the eight years since the Society was last in the UK. Building on this, the main theme of this conference is very much about achieving greater action on priority setting and improving frameworks used for this purpose across lower and higher income countries. Thus, we aim to:

• achieve participation from practitioners at all levels of health care (from national through to local) as well as the public;
• create a vibrant environment for two-way learning, from theory to practice and practice to theory;
• enhance learning about managing scarcity in more equitable and efficient ways, and, thus, for the greater benefit of the populations we serve.

Key topics for discussion and presentation will be as follows:

• theoretical and methodological advances in priority setting (reconciling health system objectives, the ethical and the economic, understanding how organisations learn and how organisations can change, developments in health technology assessment, evaluating pubic health interventions)
• practical advances in priority setting (accounting for the politics of health care, managing scarcity in resource-deprived environments of lower-income countries, achieving disinvestment in health care)
• achieving real solutions (handling the ‘media storm’, legal issues and conflict resolution in priority setting, meaningful public involvement, making the ‘academic’ practical)
• knowledge transfer and exchange (working across sectoral and disciplinary boundaries, learning from the private sector, barriers to engaging in knowledge transfer research)
• information to underpin decisions (can we make decisions with little evidence? what are the informational requirements of decision makers both at a national, local and individual client levels? Can these be met?)

You will soon be hearing form us about keynote speakers and the process of abstract submission and workshops. Until then, please mark this exciting event in your diaries. The conference has a Local Organising Committee which is being convened by the Institute of Health Society at Newcastle University by Angela Bate and Cam Donaldson.

To receive regular updates please register your interest with Eileen Coope (eileen.coope@ncl.ac.uk).

Conference web page: http://www.healthcarepriorities.co.uk/. We look forward to seeing you in NewcastleGateshead in 2008.

Location: Vienna, Austria
Dates: 23-24 October, 2008

Venue: Renaissance Hotel-Imperial Riding School

This event will bring together a strong selection of speakers and discover their unique approaches and techniques in order to maximize observational research performance. Together, we will be examining the growing role of non-interventional research in achieving stronger safety results, better cost effectiveness outcomes and higher drug performance.

Speakers include:

• Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics, USA-Vice President & Head Pharmacovigilance & Medical Safety
• Baxter Innovations, Austria-European Medical Director, Clinical Operations
• Amgen, Austria-Executive Medical Director Eastern Europe
• Sanofi-Aventis, Hungary-Affiliate Pharmacovigilance Head & Regulatory Medical Affairs Manager
• Astellas, UK-Senior Director, Medical Affairs & Health Economics Europe
• UCB Global Medical Safety & Risk Management, Belgium-Safety Physician, Ass. Director
• Biogen Idec, USA-Associate Director, Neurology
• Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, Germany-Deputy Head of Department Non-drug Interventions
• Medical University of Vienna-Head of Ethics Committee
• BPI, German Pharmaceutical Industry Association-Head of Clinical Research and Pharmacovigilance
• Stiefel Laboratories, UK-VP Global Pharmacovigilance, EU Qualified Person for Pharmacovigilance

and many more …

Together, they will deliver knowledge, expertise, insights, opinions, facts and data that can add strategic intelligence and real-value to your business.

Why attend?

• Find out when to run observational studies, for what purpose, where, what size, how they should be designed.
• Learn how patient and disease registries can be utilized to enhance pharmacovigilance and market access campaigns.
• Hear the real life experiences of those who have successfully performed observational studies and how they overcame significant challenges.
• Discover for yourself what is “best practice” in non-interventional research, by understanding both the strategic & operational perspectives and practical challenges.

To request full agenda please contact Andrea Valent at NextLevel Pharma
andrea@nextlevelpharma.com
Ph: + 421 2 3266 2621
http://www.nextlevelpharma.com/

Location: San Diego, CA, USA
Date: October 25-29, 2008

For details please visit: http://www.apha.org/meetings/future_past.htm

Location: Havana, Cuba
Dates: October 28-31 2008

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Presidents: José Ramón Balaguer Cabrera & Roberto Verrier Castro
Vice-Presidents: Pedro Hidalgo Prado, Osvaldo Castro Miranda & Blanca Rosa Pampin Balado Chair Scientific Committee: Ana María Gálvez González

CONTACTS

SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATION:

Manuel Alvarez Muñiz
Organizing Committee Coordinator
Email: malvarezm@infomed.sld.cu

HOTEL BOOKING:

Vivian Calzado
HAVANATUR
Email: viviancalzado@havanatur.cu

UNDER THE AUSPICES OF:

• Asociación Nacional de Economistas y Contadores de Cuba (ANECC)
• Ministerio de Salud Pública de Cuba (MINSAP)
• Sociedad Cubana de Economía de la Salud (SCES)
• Asociación Brasileña de Economía de la Salud
• Asociación de Economía de la Salud de Argentina
• Asociación de Economía de la Salud de Chile
• Asociación de Economía de la Salud del Uruguay
• Centro para el Control Estatal de los Medicamentos (CECMED) de Cuba
• Agencia de Vigilancia Sanitaria (ANVISA) de Brasil.
• Organización Panamericana de la Salud
• Escuela Nacional de Salud Publica de Cuba

CONFERENCE BACKGROUND:

THE III LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN CONGRESS ON HEALTH ECONOMICS is a continuation to its two former congresses held in Brazil (2004) and Argentina (2006). Now, the main subject of the congress will be “The Role of Health Economics, as a means to face the health needs of the Latin American and Caribbean peoples, within the framework of solidarity and integration processes”. Cuban experience in these subjects is quite large and rewarding, expecting therefore this congress will result satisfactory to criteria exchange, in benefit both to the Economists as well as to the Health Specialists, regarding an integrating and socializing approach.

At the same time will take place the “FIRST SCIENTIFIC WORKSHOP OF REGULATION AND ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF SANITARY TECHNOLOGIES”, bearing the objective of promoting the exchange of viewpoints, experiences, knowledge and projects over pharmaceutical market regulations, price control of medicaments and the application of pharmacy-economy in the decision-making process.

CONFERENCE SUBJECTS:

• Health Economy involving the Latin-American Integration Process.
• Public Financing and State Involvement.
• Planning and Resources Management and Control.
• Health Economic Efficiency.
• Health Services Financing.
• Planning and Management of Health Services Personnel.
• Personnel Forming in Health Economics
• National Pharmaceutical Policies and Economic Regulation of Medicaments.

ATTENDANTS PROFILES:

Professionals, technicians and personnel linked to Health Economics and related disciplines. Also, professionals and health technicians interested in Health Economics and Economic Evaluation of Sanitary Technologies

THE SCIENTIFIC SCHEDULE OF THE CONGRESS WILL CONSIST ON FOUR MODALITIES:

• Conferences.
• Round-table conference over the same subject.
• Free themes.
• Posters.

CALL FOR PAPERS:

Applicants interested in presenting their expositions in any of the afore mentioned modalities, are to send them (preferably finished), prior to June 30th, 2008 for its approval, to the President of the Scientific Committee:

Dra. C. Ana María Gálvez González galveza@infomed.sld.cu
econ@ensap.sld.cu

In case of summaries, the following scheme is recommended:

• Introduction
• Objective
• Methodology
• Results
• Conclusions.

Names of authors and co-authors are to be included. The name of the expositor of the paper to be presented must be highlighted within the names of the authors and co-authors. The corresponding acknowledgement of receipt will be sent in due time.

PUBLICATION:

All works accepted will be mentioned in the relevant CD of the Congress

REGISTRATION FEE

Delegate: 250.00 CUC
Accompany: 60.00 CUC

Location: Newcastle-Gateshead, England, UK
Conference dates: 28-31 October 2008
Venue: Sage Concert Hall

“Managing scarcity in health care: theory-to-practice and practice-to-theory”

In October 2008, the conference of the International Society for Priorities in Health Care returns to the UK, this time to the north-east of England. Formed in 1996, following the first international conference on this topic held in Stockholm, the purpose of the Society is to provide a forum in which researchers and practitioners involved in priority setting can exchange ideas and experience. Particular importance is placed on: getting research into practice; learnings across poorer and richer nations; and encouraging practitioners to learn about approaches to priority setting and researchers to learn from real practical experience.

Much has changed in the eight years since the Society was last in the UK. Building on this, the main theme of this conference is very much about achieving greater action on priority setting and improving frameworks used for this purpose across lower and higher income countries. Thus, we aim to:

• achieve participation from practitioners at all levels of health care (from national through to local) as well as the public;
• create a vibrant environment for two-way learning, from theory to practice and practice to theory;
• enhance learning about managing scarcity in more equitable and efficient ways, and, thus, for the greater benefit of the populations we serve.

Key topics for discussion and presentation will be as follows:

• theoretical and methodological advances in priority setting (reconciling health system objectives, the ethical and the economic, understanding how organisations learn and how organisations can change, developments in health technology assessment, evaluating public health interventions)
• practical advances in priority setting (accounting for the politics of health care, managing scarcity in resource-deprived environments of lower-income countries, achieving disinvestment in health care)
• achieving real solutions (handling the media storm, legal issues and conflict resolution in priority setting, meaningful public involvement, making the academic practical)
• knowledge transfer and exchange (working across sectoral and disciplinary boundaries, learning from the private sector, barriers to engaging in knowledge transfer research)
• information to underpin decisions (can we make decisions with little evidence? what are the informational requirements of decision makers both at a national, local and individual client levels? Can these be met?)

You will soon be hearing form us about keynote speakers and the process of abstract submission and workshops. Until then, please mark this exciting event in your diaries. The conference has a Local Organising Committee which is being convened by the Institute of Health Society at Newcastle University by Angela Bate and Cam Donaldson. If you would like any more details or to make any suggestions, please contact Eileen Coope (eileen.coope@ncl.ac.uk).

We look forward to seeing you in Newcastle-Gateshead in 2008.

Location: New York, USA
Dates: 17-19 November 2008
Venue: New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge, NY.

Abstract Submission deadline: 30th April 2008 (please send the abstract to the local organizing committee secretary: Kyle Handley at the email address NYSEA2008@gmail.com)

Submission of final paper: 1 August 2008

Final date for registration: 29 October 2008

Spatial Econometrics is becoming more and more popular in many scientific fields. The 2nd World Conference of the Spatial Econometrics Association aims to bring together economists, econometricians and regional scientists to discuss the present achievements and future challenges and opportunities.

Visit http://www.spatialeconometricsassociation.org/

Papers on any health economics topic dealing with spatial issues are welcome.

Location: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Dates: 30 November - 2 December 2008
Abstract submission deadline: 16 June 2008

Subject: HIV/AIDS; Care; Treatment; Prevention; Public Policy; Economics

Contact: For more information contact the Conference Secretariat, International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care (IAPAC), 123 W. Madison, Suite 1400, Chicago, IL, 60602, USA; E-mail: scorey@iapac.org; Phone: +1 312 795 4942; Fax: +1 312 795 4938; or access the following website(s): http://www.iapac08.org/ or http://www.iapac.org/

Notes: Abstract submission deadline is June 16, 2008; early registration deadline is August 15, 2008

Registration fees: $250-350* by August 15, 2008; $350-450* by November 3, 2008; $450-550* late or onsite registration (* dependent upon IAPAC membership status)

Description: IAPAC 08 is primarily an abstract-driven conference, which will feature 152 oral abstract presentations (including late breakers) as well as poster presentations. Abstract-driven sessions will address issues in three tracks: HIV Clinical Management (Track A); HIV Prevention and Psychosocial Support (Track B); or Human Rights, Economics, and Public Policy (Track C). Abstract contents will be either research-based data using established scientific methods or demonstrate experience and information from individuals or institutions working in the field. The non-abstract-driven components of IAPAC 08 will address a variety of current viewpoints and issues. These will include a keynote address, the Jonathan Mann Memorial Lecture, 18 plenary presentations, a panel discussion, six (6) interactive case-based sessions, and satellite symposia. The world’s most distinguished researchers, clinicians, and policy experts will be invited to focus their presentations around the overall IAPAC 08 theme of “Stronger Together.”

Location: Philadelphia, PA
Date: November 7-11, 2009

For details please visit: http://www.apha.org/meetings/future_past.htm