Location: Washington, DC, USA
Dates: 16 October - 3 November 2006
Application Deadline: 10 August 2006

Course Directors:

• Thomas Bossert, Harvard School of Public Health
• R. Paul Shaw, World Bank Institute

Purpose: Countries everywhere are struggling with the dual objectives of achieving widespread and equitable coverage of health services while providing health care more efficiently under tight budget constraints. The newly re-designed 2006 Flagship Course introduces a practical and comprehensive framework for understanding health systems and their performance and a structured approach to developing health system reform policies to improve that performance.

Learning Objectives

The course will enable participants to:

• Speak a “common language” about dimensions of health sector reform and achieve deeper understanding of heath finance issues and sustainable financing options;
• Situate their health systems within a taxonomy of health systems according to structural, financial, and functional characteristics;
• Assess how well their national health systems perform according to explicit criteria including health status, financial protection, citizen satisfaction, efficiency, and sustainability.
• Determine alternate paths their national health systems could take, and why it would be desirable to pursue some paths over others;
• Understand how to move their national health system from its current state to a participant-defined future state; and
• Understand how to select and apply tools and procedures to make desired changes and to assess their effects

Flagship Core Course: The annual Flagship Course, October 16 - November 3, 2006, will be offered to about 60 participants. This year’s course has undertaken a quality enhancement and technical review which has led to revised and new learning modules, including new country case studies being prepared for the upcoming course.

Location: Hong Kong
Dates: 31 October 2006 and 2-4 November 2006
Venue: School of Public Health, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

University: Oxford, Health Economics Research Centre, Department of Public Health

Language of the courses: English

Course 1: Introduction to Health Economic Evaluation, one day, 31 October 2006

Who this course is for: Non-economists who are interested in how economists evaluate the costs and benefits of health interventions, and how health economics is used by decision makers in the health service and in the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries. It will be useful to researchers, clinicians and managers in the healthcare sector.

Objective: Understanding the key concepts and techniques used in economic evaluation in healthcare.

Teaching format: Small group lecture and practical exercises. Comprehensive teaching materials to take away

Prerequisites: none

Course 2: Advanced Methods of Cost-Effectiveness Analysis, three days, 2-4 November 2006

Who this course is for: Researchers and managers with some experience of health economics who want to develop their understanding and practical skills in cost-effectiveness analysis in the healthcare sector. Participants come from academic institutions, industry and government.

Objectives: Advanced understanding of cost-effectiveness analysis methods applied to healthcare interventions, with computer-based practical exercises to aid the learning process.

Teaching format: Small group lecture and tutor-guided exercises. Comprehensive teaching materials and one year license for decision analysis software to take away.

Prerequisites: Familiarity with MS Excel and basic knowledge of health economic evaluation

Teaching Faculty: Professor Alastair Gray, Director of the Health Economics Research Centre of Oxford University leads a team of senior health economists to teach both courses.

Certificates from the University of Oxford awarded on completion of either or both courses.

More information: Visit us online for full details of course content, fees, early booking discounts and online booking
Visit http://www.herc.ox.ac.uk/ for information about the Health Economics Research Centre.

Email inquiries welcome. herc@dphpc.ox.ac.uk.

Location: Lausanne, Switzerland
Dates: 13-17 November 2006 (Part 1) and 08-12 January 2007 (Part 2)
Registration Deadline: 15 October 2006

• Prof. Pierre-Yves Geoffard (University of Lausanne)
• Prof. Albert Ma (Boston University)

Presentation: This course offers a comprehensive view of the economics of health systems (i.e. health care provision and its financing). The analytical framework will provide an integrated set-up to analyse regulation issues, both on the demand and the supply side.

Objectives: Participants will be familiar with the main tools of micro-economic analysis of health systems, with an emphasis on informational issues. Models of asymmetric information will be studied in details, as well as their applicability to the study of health insurance and health care production.

The course is part of the a series of seven modules offered as the International PhD Courses in Health Economics and Policy intended for PhD students who are wishing to enhance their specific knowledge and sharpen their capabilities in the field of health economics and policy.

Full details are available online

Location: Adelaide, Australia
Dates: 28-30 November 2006
Application deadline: 15 September 2006

A three day course led by Professor Andrew Willan

Venue: Chapel Hill Gourmet Retreat

Course Fee (including GST): $1500 (Day 1, 2 and 3). $1100 (Day 2 and 3)

Workshop size strictly limited to 25 participants

More information and application form (in the Events):
http://www.flinders.edu.au/research/asri/news.html

Location: San Franciso, California, USA and Barcelona, Spain
Dates: 7-13 January, 2007 (San Francisco), July 13-20, 2007 (Barcelona)

Application deadlines: 15 October 2006 to start the program in San Francisco this January; requests for the next round of partial scholarships,due by 30 September 2006

Website: http://ahlf.berkeley.edu
Email: ahlf@berkeley.edu

Course Description: The Advanced Health Leadership Forum is a joint offering from University of California Berkeley and the Center for Research in Health and Economics (CRES), Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona. The Advanced Health Leadership Forum is a unique certificate-based international health program focusing on key health policy and management issues, emphasizing the health economics and business perspective. Participants grapple in a practical manner with the health policy issues and options that have been converging internationally. They learn policies and management/leadership approaches that work, find out which approaches have been tried and have not been successful, and learn about current innovations.

Location: Montreal (Quebec, Canada), Rome (Italy), Barcelona (Spain) and Ottawa (Ontario, Canada)

The Ulysses Master’s Program in HTA&M is currently accepting applications for its fourth cohort. Taught by internationally acclaimed faculty, the Ulysses program offers students cutting edge training in the principles, methods and impacts of HTA&M in a unique global learning environment. Our program’s intensive format adapts to the needs, skills, and expectations of clinicians and other full time professionals and to those of graduate students who wish to concentrate on completion of a master’s dissertation.

The pedagogical format comprises four two-week teaching sessions held in different cities (Montreal, Rome, Barcelona and Ottawa) over a 20-month period, and completion of an internship or a Master’s thesis. Throughout the program, information technology is used to facilitate exchanges between students and faculty members located in different parts of the world.

The 60 Ulysses alumni include doctors, nurses, engineers, lawyers, political scientists and pharmacists and come from 14 different countries around the globe: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Germany, Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Latvia, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

The provisional schedule for the fourth cohort (2007-2009) includes 8 courses structured in four Modules. Dates are an approximation.

• Module I: October 2007 (Montréal)
  Principles and Practices in HTA (EPIB656)
  Methods in Technology Assessment

• Module II: May 2008 (Barcelona)
  Economic Evaluation
  Health Policy Analysis

• Module III: Octobre 2008 (Rome)
  Institutional Management and Impact Evaluation
  Ethical, sociocultural and Legal Issues in HTA&M

• Module IV: May 2009 (Ottawa)
  Clinical Decision-Making
  Presentation of students’ projects

Applications for the 2007-2009 cohort are due in early 2007. Students may register for Ulysses via one of five Universities (University of Montreal, University of Toronto, Universita Cattolica in Rome, University of Barcelona and International University of Catalonia). For more information, please see: http://www.ulyssesprogram.net/, or contact Stephanie Tailliez stephanie.tailliez@umontreal.ca.

Location: York, England, UK
Dates: 7-9 February 2007
Registration Deadline: 22 January 2007

Workshop at the Centre for Health Economics, University of York

Workshop Presenters: Rowena Jacobs, Peter C. Smith and Andrew Street

This three-day workshop will provide an introduction to the use of techniques for measuring the relative efficiency of public sector organisations. The two measurement tools concentrated on will be Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA).

Areas to be covered include:

• the context and purpose of productivity and efficiency measurement
• the economic theories underpinning efficiency measurement techniques
• how to conduct analysis
• the similarities and differences between techniques and
• the interpretation and application of results to support policy objectives

The workshop will introduce participants to computer software with which they will be able to apply the techniques to data during practical sessions. Throughout the workshop there will be a strong focus on the policy interest in these techniques.

The presenters have worked extensively in this area and will guide participants through the potential pitfalls of measuring efficiency using case studies and practical examples.

Full details: http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/che/training/measurecourse.htm

Location: Distance Learning Programme
Dates: 28 February 2007

Website: http://www.idec.upf.edu/mesiol

About us: This distance learning programme is based on the wide experience in on-site academic education provided by 13 editions of the Master’s Degree in Health Economics and Health Care Management given at Pompeu Fabra University, which in its early years was taught in conjunction with the University of Barcelona. This distance learning programme also takes advantage of the experience provided by the various editions of the Spanish online course taught since 2002.

The materials for the distance modules have been prepared by researchers of renowned international prestige working at the UPF Research Centre for Economics and Health (CRES) and teaching staff of the Department of Economics and Business and the Department of Health Sciences of Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona, Spain), together with other collaborators, all with proven academic and professional experience. The content of the various courses combines the explanation of the methodological foundations with the use of the instruments, based on the publications of the faculty and collaborators and the discussion of case studies taken from the specialist literature.

UPF and the Continuing Education Institute (IDEC) of Pompeu Fabra University provide all the necessary information technology infrastructure and other resources for the smooth running of the course. Taking advantage of the new possibilities offered by the information technologies, this course will be taught entirely online, combining the use of web technology, hypertexts and e-mail to allow continual teacher/participant and participant/teacher interaction

Course Content

• Module 1: Economic Evaluation of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Technologies (1): Basic Concepts
• Module 2: Quantitative Techniques Applied to Health Service Management
• Module 3: Economics and Policies of Pharmaceutical Financing
• Module 4: Economic Evaluation of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Technologies (2): Advances
• Module 5: Drug Management in Health Systems
• Module 6: Health Economics (1)
• Module 7: Health Economics (2)
• Module 8: Term Paper

Location: Maastricht, The Netherlands
Dates: 31 October - 19 December 2006, 3 January - 27 February 2007, 5 March - 24 April 2007

Maastricht University offers short courses as part of the two-year MPhil Health Sciences Research Master (HSRM), of which three courses in Health Technology Assessment (HTA). The HSRM offers a broadly orientated scientific training course for future researchers, developed by the research institute Caphri and capacity groups within both Faculties of Health Sciences and Medicine, and prepares for a PhD education or research-orientated positions. The three HTA courses provide in-depth knowledge of and insight into theoretical and normative aspects of HTA, decision analysis techniques, cost-effectiveness analytical techniques and quality of life and utility measurements.

Junior researchers and alumni are welcomed to follow one or more of the three HTA courses. A brief description of each course follows below.

Course 1: General principles of Health Technology Assessment
Dates: 31 October - 19 December 2006

Global objective: To learn about the role and function of HTA in improving the health care sector, taking into account the production and distribution of health. This course provides the principles of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and an introduction to economic evaluation that will be extended in the second and third HTA-course. The field of HTA will be considered against the background of evidence-based medicine. HTA provides a broad perspective on the evaluation of new or existing health technologies that in principle can cover every activity in health care that is patient orientated, from individual patient interventions such as a specific drug to disease management and population based care programmes. In this unit the necessity of performing HTA will be discussed, the methods of performing HTA will be lectured, including the boundaries and limitations of HTA. The value of technologies can be assessed from different angles and in practice HTA is a multi-disciplinary field of science, in which the field of (health) economics plays a particular role. This unit is structured according to the Technology Assessment Iterative Loop, a planning cycles that places HTA in a broad perspective.

Teaching methods: In the form of problem-based learning. Group sessions (maximum of 10 students per group), lectures, training sessions, and weekly reports.

Study load: 40 contact hours (on Tuesdays) and 120 self-study hours in 8 weeks.

Examination: Individual examination with 3 or 4 ‘open’ questions, to be answered without books, and an assignment of the weekly report. The student will have to receive a sufficient grade for both parts of the examination. Both parts form 50% of the final judgment.

Course 2: Trial Based economic evaluations
Dates: 3 January - 27 February 2007

Objective: To learn about the in and outs of a full economic evaluation. This unit combines a deepening of understanding of the theoretical concepts with a hands-on training of the basic elements of a trial-based economic evaluation.

This course provides an in-depth explanation of full economic evaluations in all its steps based on effectiveness studies (cohort studies, case-control studies, randomised controlled trials). The focus is thus on how to perform trial-based economic evaluations, while in the third HTA course emphasis will be paid on economic evaluations based on decision-analytic modelling techniques. This unit is structured according to the basic steps that are considered necessary in trial-based economic evaluations.

Teaching methods: In the form of problem-based learning. Group sessions (maximum of 10 students), lectures, training sessions, and weekly reports.

Study load: 48 contact hours (on Tuesdays, except the first on Wednesday) and 112 self-study hours in 8 weeks.

Examination: Individual examination with 3 or 4 ‘open’ questions, to be answered without books, and an assignment of the weekly report. The student will have to receive a sufficient grade for both parts of the examination. Both parts form 50% of the final judgment.

Course 3: Cost-effectiveness modelling methods
Dates: 5 March - 24 April 2007

Objective: To learn about the in and outs of decision analytic modelling methods in health economic evaluation. This unit combines a deepening of understanding of the theoretical concepts with a hands-on training of the basic elements of a decision analytic cost-effectiveness model.

This provides an in-depth teaching programme of model based economic evaluations. The focus is on the principles of cost-effectiveness modelling methods; on how to choose the accurate type of model; on how to design, build, validate and verify cost-effectiveness models; on how to analyse and interpret these models; how to handle uncertainty in models; and how to use models to prioritise further research. The course is structured according to the steps of the PROACTIVE approach in modelling.

Teaching methods: In the form of problem-based learning. Group sessions (maximum of 10 students), lectures, training sessions, and weekly reports.

Study load: 72 contact hours (on Tuesdays) and 88 self-study hours in 8 weeks.

Examination: Individual examination with 3 or 4 ‘open’ questions, to be answered without books, a spreadsheet based cost-effectiveness model built by each student individually, and an extensive technical report (methods and results) of the individual cost-effectiveness model. The student will have to receive a sufficient grade in all three parts of the examination. All parts form a third of the final judgment.

Faculty HTA curriculum

Prof. Dr. Hans Severens, MSc, PhD. (coordinator)

Hans Severens is professor of Medical Technology Assessment at the dept. of Health Organisation Policy and Economics, Maastricht University and he is co-head of the department of Clinical Epidemiology and Medical Technology Assessment of the University Hospital Maastricht. As a researcher, he has 15 years experience in conducting economic evaluation alongside (clinical) trails as well as using modeling techniques for studying cost-effectiveness of medical interventions. Besides this, he worked on methodological subjects in this field, such as ratio uncertainty, validity of cost measurement and valuation of patients’ productivity loss.

Department of Health Organisation, Policy and Economics, Maastricht University
E-mail: H.Severens@BEOZ.unimaas.nl

Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Medical Technology Assessment, University Hospital Maastricht

Dr. Manuela Joore, MSc, PhD.

Manuela A. Joore holds a MSc. in Health Sciences/Epidemiology and a PhD. in Economics and has appointments at the Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Medical Technology Assessment of the University Hospital Maastricht, and at the Department of Health Organisation, Policy and Economics of Maastricht University. She has 10 years of experience in conducting HTA research. As a senior researcher she is involved in a variety of economic evaluation projects, ranging from clinical procedures to pharmaceuticals to health care organizational change. Her methodological research interests are in the fields of decision analytical modelling and outcomes research.

Department of Health Organisation, Policy and Economics, Maastricht University
Email: M.Joore@BEOZ.unimaas.nl

Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Medical Technology Assessment, University Hospital Maastricht
Email: MJO@KEMTA.azm.nl

Dr. André Ament, MSc, PhD.

André Ament has an appointment as associate professor at the department of Health Organisation Policy and Economics at the University of Maastricht. He evaluated different technologies and interventions, among which CABG, Salmonella enteritidis, influenza, application of laparoscopy, scenario analysis et cetera. His thesis “Optimal use of diagnostics test” is a study into the application of economic modelling by uncertainty and was published in 1989. He has also performed several systematic reviews and has participated in developing a standardized minimum checklist for performing systematic reviews for cost-effectiveness analysis. Furthermore, he is performing an evaluation study of a computer assisted triage system in GP practice.

Department of Health Organisation, Policy and Economics, Maastricht University
E-mail: A.Ament@BEOZ.unimaas.nl

Dr. Silvia Evers, MSc, LL M, PhD.

Silvia Evers studied Health Sciences (Mental Health Sciences; Health Policy and Administration), Epidemiology, and Law. Since the early nineties, she worked as a (HTA) researcher at the Maastricht University (Epidemiology; Health Economics; Medical Sociology), at the University of Amsterdam (Pedagogics), and at University Hospital Maastricht (Neurosurgery). She wrote several international publications on economic evaluations on several subjects. Currently the author is working as a senior researcher at the department of Health Organisation Policy and Economics. A number of projects in which she was co-applicant were refunded mainly on international comparison (OECD Ageing Related Disease project, and the project Cross-national transferability of cost-effectiveness data in stroke) and on transferral of organizational care. She is among others a member of the Cochrane Health Economics Methods Group and the Mental Health Economics Europe. Besides her research activities, she is involved as an HTA-supervisor in several clinical trials and as a lecturer in HTA-courses.

Department of Health Organisation, Policy and Economics, Maastricht University
E-mail: S.Evers@BEOZ.unimaas.nl

Costs

EUR 450 per course

For further information and registration:

Check out our website http://www.hsrm.nl/ and follow the link to “short courses” or (e-)mail the program secretariat at the following address.

Contact information:

Dr. Christel van Gool
Maastricht University
Department of Epidemiology

Postal address: P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht

Visiting address: Peter Debeyeplein 1, room A2.43

Tel: +31 43 388 2372 / 2375
Fax: 0031 +43-3884128
e-mail: C.vanGool@epid.unimaas.nl

Location: Lugano, Switzerland
Dates: 08 - 12 March 2007
Venue: University of Lugano
Registration deadline: 10 February 2007

Int. PhD courses in Health economics and policy

Course: Empirical Methods in Health Economics: Analysis of Efficiency and Consumer Choices

• Prof. Massimo Filippini (University of Lugano, ETH Zurich)
• Prof. William Greene (New York University)

Presentation: This Laboratory course offers an analytical overview of the theory and practice of efficiency and productivity measurement in the health care sector. Both conceptual and methodological issues will be addressed. It is also intended to familiarize doctoral students with the software to initiate their own research in efficiency and productivity measurement.

Objectives: At the end of the course, participants should have acquired the following capabilities:

1. Use econometric approaches with cross-sectional and panel data to model and measure technical, allocative, and scale efficiency levels.
2. Assess the appropriate use of parametric approaches given the data and problem setting (understanding the advantages and disadvantages of different model specifications, functional forms and econometric approaches)

The course is part of the a series of seven modules offered as the International PhD Courses in Health Economics and Policy intended for PhD students who are wishing to enhance their specific knowledge and sharpen their capabilities in the field of health economics and policy.

Full details are available online

Location: Nottingham, England, UK
Dates: 22-23 May 2007
Venue: Centre for Risk and Insurance Studies, Business School, University of Nottingham

Abstract submission deadline: 23 March 2007
Full paper deadline: 1 May 2007

The mapping and sequencing of the human genome has increased the development of genetic technologies. As such the Economic and Social Research Council has funded a total of 4 seminars during 2006 and 2007 focused on the economics of genetic technologies. The seminars are organised by Dr. Sarah Wordsworth, Health Economics Research Centre (University of Oxford), Dr. Katherine Payne, North West Genetics Knowledge Park (University of Manchester), Professor Paul Fenn (University of Nottingham) and Professor Miranda Mugford (University of East Anglia).

The seminars aim to: provide a forum to present and discuss on-going and cutting-edge economic analysis in genetics and build a network of individuals comprising: health economists and other economists; ethicists, sociologists and actuaries applying economic techniques in genetics research.

The seminars are being held at six-monthly intervals at the UK Universities of Manchester (18-19 May, 2006), Oxford (23-24 November, 2006), Nottingham (22-23 May, 2007) and East Anglia (2007). They are two-day residential events where original research and research in progress is presented and discussed. The seminars are aimed at researchers from the UK and international community involved in the economic aspects of human genetic science. Each seminar will be structured around a key theme. PhD students also working in this area are encouraged to apply.

The theme for this third seminar: ‘Interpretation and use of genetic information’. Papers are now invited from economists and others exploring the way in which genetic information is interpreted and used by, for example, insurers and employers.

Seminar Date: May 22nd - 23rd, 2007

Location: Centre for Risk and Insurance Studies, Business School, University of Nottingham, UK

A 250 word abstract should be sent to Paul Fenn by Friday March 23rd , 2007 (paul.fenn@nottingham.ac.uk)

Full paper deadline: May 1st, 2007

A registration fee of only £60 is required from each participant. Along with the ESRC funding this will cover the event, all meals (including seminar dinner on the first evening) and accommodation for one night. Each seminar will be limited to 30 participants.

Further information: Please see the Health Economics Research Centre Website under workshops.

Location: Bern, Switzerland
Dates: 23 April - 27 April 2007
Registration deadline: 20 March 2007

Prof. Per-Olov Johansson (Stockholm School of Economics)

Presentation: This course is designed to give students a clear understanding of the different approaches to the valuation of life and health and their relationship to standard economic theory.

Objectives: At the end of the course, participants should have acquired the following capabilities:

1. Know how to design a cost-effectiveness and a cost-utility study, estimate opportunity costs that can replace observed prices whenever necessary and be able to define common outcome measures.
2. Be able to understand the properties of human capital-based, cost-effectiveness, cost-utility, and cost-benefit analysis in the light of economic welfare theory.
3. Understand the major properties of the open-ended and closed-ended (discrete choice) contingent valuation approach as well as of the conjoint analysis approach.

The course is part of the a series of seven modules offered as the International PhD Courses in Health Economics and Policy intended for PhD students who are wishing to enhance their specific knowledge and sharpen their capabilities in the field of health economics and policy.

Full details are available online

Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Dates: 7-11 May 2007
Deadline for registration: 25 April 2007

Venue: University of Geneva - Switzerland (UNI-MAIL 5354) on May 7 to May 11, 2007

Econometric Analysis of Healthcare Demand

• Prof. Willard Manning (University of Chicago)

Presentation: This laboratory course is intended for PhD students and other junior researchers interested in the quantitative analysis of health care demand. Apart from providing an overview of the economic specificities of health care demand, the course will address econometric methods used for modeling different types of data on health care consumption, and provide examples drawn from real data for Switzerland or other countries.

Objectives: The aims of the course are:

• To provide an overview of the economic aspects of health care demand
• To present the econometric and statistical tools for the different types of data on health care consumption
• To apply these methods to real datasets through computation-based exercises

The course is part of the a series of seven modules offered as the International PhD Courses in Health Economics and Policy intended for PhD students who are wishing to enhance their specific knowledge and sharpen their capabilities in the field of health economics and policy.

Full details are available online

Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Dates: 18-23 June 2007
Venue: University of Geneva

Lecturers:

• Prof. Eddy van Doorslaer (Erasmus University, Rotterdam, Netherlands)
• Dr Owen O’Donnell (University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece)

Description: This course is intended for PhD students and other junior researchers interested in the quantitative analysis of inequality and inequity in health and health care. The course consists of five days of lectures and tutorials on a number of topics related to the measurement and explanation of inequities/inequalities in health. Apart from providing a general introduction into the range of approaches available to researchers, it will also provide practical experience of computation using Stata. Illustrations will be based on real-world examples drawn from evidence in European and other OECD countries, as well as developing countries.

Objectives:

• To review health economics approaches to the measurement of inequality and inequity (most of which were developed in the context of the European ECuity Project)
• To provide detailed guidance on computational procedures using Stata
• To provide hands-on experience with computation-based exercises

Course text:

• O. O’Donnell, E. van Doorslaer, A. Wagstaff and M. Lindelow (2007) Analysing Health Equity using Household Survey Data, Washington DC, World Bank.

Further details and application form

Dr. Gilles de Weck
Network Health Economics
HEC - Dorigny
CH-1015 Lausanne

Tel: +4121 692 33 92

gdeweck@unil.ch

Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Dates: 18-22 June 2007
Scholarship Application deadline: 15 May 2007

3.0 CEUs

MIT Summer Course on Discrete Choice Analysis

Applications are being accepted for the following short course:

• Individual Choice Behavior: Theory and Application of Discrete Choice Analysis [14.61s]

Course Description: The course consists of an in-depth study of discrete choice models (e.g., logit, nested logit, cross nested logit, multivariate extreme value, probit, and logit mixtures) and their applications. It equips participants with information and practical tools needed to apply discrete choice techniques. Topics include behavioral theories, model formulation, data collection, estimation methods, testing and forecasting.

The course also covers advanced practical topics, such as:

• How to deal with complex choice scenarios with many alternatives.
• How to address situations with customized products and services.
• How to combine stated preferences with revealed preferences data.
• How to represent dynamic effects in discrete choice models.
• When is it appropriate to use Probit and Logit mixtures.
• How to effectively use simulation and Bayesian methods to estimate these models.

Participants gain hands-on experience by applying free software to estimate and test discrete choice models from real databases. The information and techniques taught in this course are useful for marketing researchers and analysts, economists, operations researchers, engineers, planners, managers, and researchers in industry, government or academia interested in understanding and predicting consumer choices, demand and market share.

Full details are available from the course website

Course Instructors: “Individual Choice Behavior” has been taught at MIT annually for more than 25 years. The instructors have both wide and deep formal credentials and practical experience in discrete choice modeling, including key academic contributions to the field. Lecturer-In-Charge is Moshe Ben-Akiva.

Scholarship Opportunity: We are pleased to announce the availability of full and partial tuition scholarships for junior professors, postdocs and doctoral students to attend this course.

One full-tuition and several half-tuition scholarships will be awarded. The tuition includes course materials but does not include costs associated with travel and accommodations during the course. Individuals who wish to apply for a scholarship should send a current CV (resume) plus a two page, single-spaced (maximum) letter of application via e-mail to Leanne Russell (lrussell@mit.edu). The application letter should contain the following:

1. A brief introductory paragraph summarizing the information contained in the CV.
2. A section entitled “My Reasons for Wanting to Attend This Course.”
3. A section entitled “How This Course Will Benefit My Academic Research and/or Teaching”.

Professor Ben-Akiva will evaluate all applications, and announce the winning recipient to all applicants directly via e-mail on Friday, May 18 (Eastern Standard Time.) The application deadline is Tuesday, May 15th, 2007.

Location: Barcelona, Spain and San Francisco, California, USA
Dates: 13-20 July 2007 (Barcelona); 6-13 January 2008 (San Francisco)
Application deadlines: 15 April 2007 (Barcelona); September 2007 (San Francisco); requests for partial scholarships, due by March 30, 2007

Website: http://ahlf.berkeley.edu
Email: ahlf@berkeley.edu

Course Description: The Advanced Health Leadership Forum is a joint offering from University of California Berkeley and the Center for Research in Health and Economics (CRES), Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona. The Advanced Health Leadership Forum is a unique certificate-based international health program focusing on key health policy and management issues, emphasizing the health economics and business perspective. Participants grapple in a practical manner with the health policy issues and options that have been converging internationally. They learn policies and management/leadership approaches that work, find out which approaches have been tried and have not been successful, and learn about current innovations.

Sample Content:

• Leadership, ethics and infectious disease preparedness workshops
• Evidence-based management
• Innovations in payer and health delivery connections
• Measurement and implementation strategies for assuring quality, equity and health system change
• Public and private health care insurance
• IT and care management systems, including field trip to Kaiser Permanente
• Technology changes and future health care predictions to prepare for
• Pharmaceutical innovation, pricing and regulation
• Defining benefit packages, explicit priority setting and rationing
• Making effective use of the new consumerism
• Lessons learned from managed care techniques
• Dealing with aging, long term care, mental health challenges

Report on last session: 23 senior health care leaders from around the world convened in San Francisco, CA, on January 2007 at the Advanced Health Leadership Forum (AHLF) to pursue solutions for key health care challenges. Participants graduating in San Francisco also presented the work-related projects that they had completed with faculty mentors during the interim between sessions. This recent group hailed from 15 countries and their employers included the National Health Service, health ministries, public and private hospital organizations, insurance companies, universities and health care research foundations. There was fantastic bonding among participants and electronic communications methods have been launched to keep them in touch with each other and past program alumni. This continuing networking has already begun, with over 80 prominent alumni of the three annual cycles.

Expert faculty were drawn from University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco, and six universities in Europe.

Outside guest speakers included:

• Ian Morrison, well-known health care futurist,
• Richard Feachem, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria,
• Robert Pearl, CEO, The Permanente Medical Group
• Arnold Milstein, world expert on innovations in purchasing health care, Mercer and Pacific Business Group on Health
• Molly Coye, founder and CEO, Health Technology Center Institute for the Future,
• Susan Desmond-Hellmann, President, Product Development at Genentech,
• Gail Wilensky, senior US health policy consultant,
• David Lawrence, retired chairman, Kaiser Permanente;
• and additional executives from the United Kingdom’s National Health Service, WHO, the World Bank, and the European Union.

Originators of the program, the University of California’s School of Public Health (Dean Stephen Shortell, Professor Richard Scheffler, Program Administrator Meg Kellogg) and the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona (Professors Guillem Lopez-Casasnovas and Vicente Ortun) have launched the fourth annual cycle starting in Barcelona this coming July. The second session will take place in San Francisco, CA in January 2008. Most participants attend the whole program—both sessions— in either order, but it is permissible to attend only one session.

In addition to annual speakers, Leonard Schaeffer, the creator and chairman of Wellpoint, will be coming to speak and interact with participants in San Francisco. Wellpoint is the most successful health insurance company in the United States and Leonard has proven himself a dynamic leader. Also coming to San Francisco will be Tom D’Aunno, Director of the Healthcare Management Initiative at INSEAD, France. Likely to come as well but not confirmed: George Halvorsen, Chairman of Kaiser Permanente and Peter Berman from Harvard University.

Apply now: Applications for the next cycle of the Advanced Health Leadership Forum are due by April 15, 2007. Or, if you plan to start January 2008 in San Francisco, apply now as well and no later than September 15, 2007. For more information, see http://ahlf.berkeley.edu/ or email Meg A. Kellogg, program administrator at ahlf@berkeley.edu. Partial scholarships for selected high-level participants may be available. Applications and resumes for partial scholarships are due March 30, 2007.

Location: York (England), Sydney (Australia), Glasgow (Scotland)
Dates: 21-23 March, 23-25 July, and September (TBA)

This 3-day computer-based workshop is now being held in 3 locations:

• York, UK (March 21-23, 2007);
• Sydney Australia (July 23-25, 2007);
• Glasgow, Scotland (September 2007 — exact date to be determined)

This course is designed for participants who are familiar with economic evaluation and healthcare and who wish to learn how to use more modelling techniques. It is envisaged that participants will currently be undertaking modelling for health economic evaluation within pharmaceutical and medical device industries, consultancy, academia or health services. By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

1. develop and populate a decision model;
2. populate a Markov model with and without time-dependent probabilities;
3. make a model probabilistic to reflect parameter uncertainty and to run Monte Carlo simulation;
4. present the results of a probabilistic model using net monetary benefits and cost-effectiveness acceptability curves; and
5. assess the expected value of perfect information.

The course will provide an introduction to decision models including decision trees and standard Markov models. Greater sophistication will be added as building blocks over the 3-day course. This will include adding time dependency to Markov models, making models probabilistic, populating decision models using regression models, presenting the results of probabilistic models and undertaking value of information analysis.

Instructors for the workshop include:

• Andrew Briggs & Elisabeth Fenwick from the University of Glasgow,
• Mark Sculpher and Karl Claxton from the University of York, UK, and
• Ron Goeree from PATH, McMaster University, Canada.

For further details regarding these workshops, you can access our full colour brochure on the PATH web-site: http://www.path-hta.ca/.

Note: Special discounts are available for private sector employees, so book early

If you would like to receive a copy of our full colour brochure, please e-mail: hendersc@mcmaster.ca with your full postal address.

For further information regarding these workshops please contact:
Christine Henderson at 1-905-523-7284, x5268 (hendersc@mcmaster.ca) or Jan Watson at 1-905-523-7284, x6188 (watsonj@mcmaster.ca) or visit our website and follow the links to “workshops”

Location: Seattle, Washington, USA
Application Deadline: 15 January 2007
Date of Commencement: 26 September 2007

Type of Course: Full-time
Class size: Average size of class intake is 3-4

E-mail: penny@u.washington.edu
Website: http://depts.washington.edu/porpp/gradpage.html

Program Description: The University of Washington created the Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research and Policy Program (PORPP) in 1995 to consolidate and coordinate research and training efforts among a number of faculty. Program faculty and professional staff provide medical facilities, health insurance providers pharmaceutical and device companies and governmental agencies with analyses on the safety and cost-effectiveness of prescription drugs in order to achieve a better understanding of the risks and benefits of medical and pharmaceutical interventions. PORPP has helped the UW become a nationally recognized center for pharmacoepidemiology, pharmacoeconomics, and pharmaceutical policy research.

Pharmaceutical outcomes research employs economic and epidemiologic methods to evaluate clinical outcomes, morbidity, quality of life, and cost-effectiveness. The graduate program in pharmaceutical outcomes research and policy trains students in economic evaluation, pharmacoepidemiology, health services research, and pharmaceutical policy formulation and evaluation.

Career Opportunities

Graduate training leading to a degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences prepares students for career opportunities in:

• Teaching and research at colleges and universities.
• Safety and economic evaluation of products in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries.
• Policy analysis for professional associations, health care insurance providers, and governmental agencies.
• Management within hospitals, managed care organizations and programs concerned with reimbursement for pharmaceuticals and other medical technologies.

Locations: Hong Kong (6-10 November 2007) and Shenzhen (12 November 2007)

• Introduction to Health Economic Evaluation - one day course.
• Advanced Methods of Cost-Effectiveness Analysis - three day course

Two courses from the Health Economics Research Centre (HERC) of Oxford University. To be held at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention in November 2007.

Teaching Faculty includes Professor Alastair Gray, Director of HERC, and other senior members of HERC.

Dates and Venues:

• 6-10 November 2007. School of Public Health, The Chinese University of Hong Kong - both courses, in English.
• 12 November 2007. Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention - one day course only, in English with simultaneous translation.

10% DISCOUNT for Hong Kong bookings made before the end of September.

The courses introduce the discipline of health economics and explain the concepts and techniques of economic evaluation and cost-effectiveness analysis as used in the healthcare sector. The two courses can be taken separately or in sequence

Visit http://www.herc.ox.ac.uk/ for full details of course content and fees, to download a brochure, and to book Hong Kong courses online.

General inquiries: herc@dphpc.ox.ac.uk Shenzhen inquiries and bookings: moujin@szcdc.net

Location: Lausanne, Switzerland
Dates: 12-16 November 2007 and 7-11 January 2008
Registration Deadline: October 30, 2007

Health Economics: Information, Quality and Regulation
University of Lausanne, November 12 to 16, 2007 and January 7 to 11, 2008

• Prof. Pierre-Yves Geoffard (University of Lausanne)
• Prof. Albert Ma (Boston University)

Presentation: This course offers a comprehensive view of the economics of health systems (i.e. health care provision and its financing). The analytical framework will provide an integrated setup to analyze regulation issues, both on the demand and the supply sides.

Objectives: Participants are expected to be familiar with the main tools of microeconomic analysis. Models of asymmetric information will be studied in details, as well as their applicability to the study of health insurance and health care production.

The course is part of the a series of seven modules offered as the International PhD Courses in Health Economics and Policy intended for PhD students who are wishing to enhance their specific knowledge and sharpen their capabilities in the field of health economics and policy.

Full details are available on the website

Location: Heslington, York, England, UK
Dates: 20-22 February 2008
Venue: Centre for Health Economics, University of York, UK

Workshop Presenters: Rowena Jacobs, Peter C. Smith and Andrew Street

This three-day workshop will provide an introduction to the use of techniques for measuring the relative efficiency of public sector organisations. The two measurement tools concentrated on will be Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA).

Areas to be covered include:

• the context and purpose of productivity and efficiency measurement
• the economic theories underpinning efficiency measurement techniques
• how to conduct analysis
• the similarities and differences between techniques and
• the interpretation and application of results to support policy objectives

The workshop will introduce participants to computer software with which they will be able to apply the techniques to data during practical sessions. Throughout the workshop there will be a strong focus on the policy interest in these techniques.

The presenters have worked extensively in this area and will guide participants through the potential pitfalls of measuring efficiency using case studies and practical examples.

Full details: http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/che/training/measurecourse.htm

Each year there are improvements to this workshop, and for the first time, a copy of the following book will be included in the Registration fee: “Measuring Efficiency in Health Care: analytic techniques and health policy”.

If you wish to attend this workshop, you are encouraged to consider registering early as places are limited, and workshops offered by the Centre for Health Economics are often oversubscribed.

For enquiries about this workshop, please contact: Gillian Robinson, Workshop Administrator, at: gmr8@york.ac.uk; tel: +1904 321436.