iHEA

International Health Economics Association

8th World Congress: Transforming Health and Economics

Advertisement: 8th World Congress: Transforming Health and Economics: July 2011

PhD

July 28, 2010

Advanced Modelling Methods for Health Economic Evaluation (3-day Workshop)

Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Dates: 28-30 July 2010

This 3-day modeling course is to be held in the Millennium Hilton Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand.

The short course has run over a period of 7 years as a successful collaboration between the Universities of York and Glasgow in the UK, and McMaster University in Canada. The Bangkok course will also involve researchers from the Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program (HITAP) in Thailand.

The teaching faculty for the modeling course will be:

  • Mark Sculpher (University of York, UK)
  • Andrew Briggs (University of Glasgow, UK)
  • Elisabeth Fenwick (University of Glasgow, UK)
  • Ron Goeree (McMaster University, Canada)

Tutoring will also be provided by researchers at HITAP.

This is an advanced course focusing specifically on decision modelling and intended for people currently undertaking modelling for health economic evaluation within the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, consultancy, academia or the health service. It is also appropriate for those reviewing or preparing economic evaluation evidence for public health authorities.

By the end of the course participants will be expected to:

  • Develop and populate a decision model
  • Populate a Markov model with and without time-dependent probabilities
  • Undertake probabilistic sensitivity analysis (PSA) to reflect parameter uncertainty
  • Present the results of a PSA using net monetary benefits and cost-effectiveness acceptability curves
  • Assess expected value of perfect information.
  • Model developed in Microsoft Excel and in Treeage
  • Gather experience relating to the use of economic evaluation in public policy decisions

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 workshop.The course involves a mixture of lectures and computer based exercises. Participants will need to bring their own laptop computers for the exercises.

Participants are expected to have attended a general advanced course in economic evaluation or be comfortable with the contents of “Methods for the Economic Evaluation of Health Care Programs” by Drummond et al (Oxford University Press, 2005).

As an addition to the main teaching modules on modeling, we will have sessions at the end of Days 2 and 3 on the use of HTA in decision making. On Day 2 the focus will be on the use of model-based economic evaluation to inform policy decisions about the adoption of health technology. On the final day a session will consider the use of systematic reviews in HTA. HITAP will be leading these sessions: Dr.Yot Teerawattananon (program leader of HITAP), Dr. Sripen Tantivess (senior researcher of HITAP) and Miss Jomkwan Yothasamut (researcher).

Cost of the 3-day workshop:

PRIOR to March 1, 2010: Public/Academic Sector: $2,000 (Canadian dollars) Commercial Sector:$2,500 (Canadian dollars)

AFTER March 1, 2010: Public/Academic Sector: $2,500 (Canadian dollars) Commercial Sector:$3,000 (Canadian dollars)

If you would like more information or would like to register for the course in Toronto please contact Christine Henderson hendersc@mcmaster.ca.

To find more details about the Bangkok course and to register go to http://www.path-hta.ca/workshop.htm

A version of this course is also being run at:

permalink July 28, 2010: Short Course

August 4, 2010

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Direct, Indirect and Mixed Treatment Evidence: University of Glasgow

Location: Glasgow, UK
Dates: 4th-6th August 2010,

The Health Economics Appraisals Team (HEAT) at the University of Glasgow are pleased to announce a three day course on conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Through a series of lectures and hands-on workshops (using Stata and WinBUGS), this course will cover the principles and practice of conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of a variety of measures of treatment effects. In addition, participants will learn the important aspects of network meta-analysis, going beyond traditional pairwise techniques when comparing multiple treatment options.

The course is suitable for clinicians, health service researchers and other healthcare professionals who are involved in systematic reviews and meta-analyses as a piece of independent work or an integral part of a health technology assessment.

Participants should have knowledge of basic medical statistics. A basic appreciation of research design would be helpful, as would basic knowledge of Stata and WinBUGS. A half day introduction to Stata is available on 3 August for those less familiar with the software.

More information can be found on the course webpage see http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/healtheconomicappraisalsteam/

Further details and booking information are available from the HEAT administrator: heat@clinmed.gla.ac.uk

permalink August 4, 2010: Short Course

August 9, 2010

HRH Labor Markets Course: University of California, Berkeley

Location: Berkeley, California, USA
Dates: August 9-13, 2010

Analyze and Plan Human Resources for Health

The Global Health Workforce Economics Network (GHWEN) will teach a weeklong course in HRH labor markets at the University of California, Berkeley, August 9-13, 2010. GHWEN promotes research and training in the field of health workforce economics. It is housed within the Global Center for Health Economics and Policy Research, which is a WHO Collaborating Center, and is also affiliated with the World Bank.

This course will teach economic models and tools used to es-timate workforce needs, demand, and supply. The course will provide an overview of key topical areas centered on increasing productivity, skill mix, distribution, and incentives. It will analyze HRH policies that have strengthened health systems, such as im-proving health worker effectiveness, increasing recruitment and retention, and reducing urban-rural imbalances.

Who should attend: This course is for managers, planners, ana-lysts, and others who work in the human resources for health field in organizations such as Ministries of Health, health care facilities, aid organizations, and academic institutions. The prin-ciples taught in the course will be applicable to all countries, but the case studies will focus on low-income countries. The case studies will include quantitative exercises, such as analyzing data.

Qualifications: Applicants must have good quantitative skills, and be proficient (read, write, converse) in English.

Application: Individuals who are interested in admission to the course need to submit an application and curriculum vitae by. Apply at:

http://ghwen.org/training/hrh/register

Applicants are responsible for obtaining visas.

Fee: $3,200 (includes lodging, breakfasts and lunches, one dinner, and course materials).

Scholarships: GHWEN is approaching several international agencies trying to find funding for partial scholarships to help qualified applicants to attend the course. Please contact the Logistics Coordinator, Amy Nuttbrock, if your ability to attend would depend on such support. In addition, applicants are en-couraged to look for possible support on their own, for example, by contacting the WHO office in their country, or its counterpart in the country’s Ministry of Health.

Amy Nuttbrock
Logistics Coordinator
Telephone: +1-510-643-4100
Facsimile: +1-510-643-4281
amynuttbrock@berkeley.edu

Brent D. Fulton, PhD, MBA
Academic Coordinator
Telephone: +1-510-643-4102
email: fultonb@berkeley.edu

permalink August 9, 2010: Short Course

September 1, 2010

PhD in Economics: Economics Department at IUPUI

Location: Indiana, USA
Start date: Fall 2010

The Economics Department at IUPUI is pleased to announce a new PhD in Economics. We will be accepting our first entering PhD class for Fall of 2010. Fellowship support will be offered on a competitive basis.

The program will specialize in Health Economics. Students will begin with PhD core training in economic theory and econometrics, emphasizing microeconomic theory and microeconometrics. Specializing in health economics will allow us to offer a two-course field sequence in health economics as well as a course focusing on the institutional context of health, health care, and health insurance. Importantly, students will also take elective courses such as biostatistics, epidemiology, bioethics, or health policy, giving them a background that will facilitate working in the interdisciplinary teams with whom health economists often interact. In addition to econometric theory, we will also offer a year-long empirical econometrics sequence, emphasizing statistical packages, working with large datasets, and problems in applied econometrics. We plan strong disciplinary training in micro theory, econometrics, and health economics enhanced with exposure to other related disciplines central to health and health care.

More information on the department and the program is online at http://liberalarts.iupui.edu/~econ. Questions can be emailed to econphd@iupui.edu.

permalink September 1, 2010: PhD

Two PhD positions in Healthcare Management

Location: Ulm, Germany
Start date: September 1 st, 2010
Index number: 40

The newly established Center for Healthcare Management at Ulm University in Germany invites applications for: Two PhD positions in Healthcare Management (50 %)(or one full-time post-doctoral research position).

Ulm University, a leading medical and natural sciences university in Germany, is seeking two PhD candidates (or one post-doctoral researcher) for the newly established Center for Healthcare Management. This concentration brings together the medical and the business school at Ulm University to develop expertise in healthcare management. The candidates will participate in domestic and international collaborations with leading academic and medical institutions.

Responsibilities:

The candidate(s) will take a lead in designing and conducting healthcare management research (data collection, analysis and synthesis). They will also assist in teaching.

Qualifications:

  1. Master’s or PhD degree in psychology or related fields
  2. Experience in statistical methods and test theory; proficiency in statistical software such as SPSS or SAS
  3. Knowledge of health care markets/organizations and theories of organizational behavior is considered a plus

Start date:

Ideal start date is September 1 st , 2010 or later (flexible); two-year contract.

Additional information:

Candidates must be willing to relocate to or near Ulm. Ulm is located in southern Germany, close to the Alps, Munich and Stuttgart. The city is known for its rich culture, as well as a science and commercial center. International applicants are welcome.

The University of Ulm is committed to increase the share of women in research and teaching positions and therefore explicitly encourages female candidates to apply.

Compensation:

Salary will be in accordance with the German state-regulated public service salary scale (TVL-13).

To apply:

Please send CV, cover letter, a brief synopsis of a research project previously conducted (or up to three selected publications) and up to 3 letters of reference to Prof. Dr. Katharina Janus at katharina.janus@uni-ulm.de latest until July 25, 2010. Please indicate in the subject line the index number 40.

Physically disabled applicants receive favourable consideration when equally qualified. The appointment is made by the central university administration.

permalink September 1, 2010: PhD

MSc Health Economics and Health Policy: University of Birmingham

Location: Birmingham, UK
Start date: September 2010

Health care systems worldwide confront the challenge of meeting seemingly unlimited patient needs and demands with constrained and limited resources. Health economics is playing an increasing role, providing analysis to inform health care decision making and policy formation.

This course is suitable for:

  • People currently working in the health care sector (in both the public and private sectors, including the pharmaceutical industry) who wish to improve their understanding of and skills in health economics

  • Graduates who wish to pursue a career in health economics and/or health services research

The course will enable you to:

  • Explore the key principles and theories upon which health economics is based

  • Understand some of the key concepts in market theory and their applicability to health care

  • Apply introductory and advanced methods of economic evaluation, including modelling and Bayesian approaches

  • Recognise approaches to rationing and tackling scarcity from theoretical and practical perspectives

  • Distinguish between alternative approaches to organising and financing health care systems

  • Critically review, and interpret appropriately, applied health economic analyses

  • Have an in-depth understanding of the equity issues faced in resource allocation and how these may be addressed

  • Develop an understanding of the underlying concepts in statistical analysis and information handling

  • Explore the perspective of health policy and the role of economic analysis in shaping policy

For more information on the programme please go to our web pages where you can see module information and access our online application form: http://www.mds.bham.ac.uk/healtheconomics

permalink September 1, 2010: Masters

September 9, 2010

Eliciting Probability Distribution from Experts

Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK
Venue: The Centre for Bayesian Statistics in Health Economics, University of Sheffield
Date: 9th September 2010

Course faculty

Dr Jeremy Oakley, Professor
Anthony O’Hagan
Mr John Stevens

Background

Decision analytic models such as economic models submitted to NICE and similar reimbursement authorities around the world often incorporate evidence in the form of expert opinion. Experts’ beliefs about unknown quantities of interest can be described using probability distributions following a process of elicitation. This practical course aims provide participants with the skills required to elicit experts’ probability distributions about unknown quantities of interest. The course is based around the SHELF package: a set of templates and software routines in R for conducting elicitation.

Who will benefit from the course?

The course is suitable for health economists, statisticians, systematic reviewers and decision-makers interested in the elicitation of experts’ probability distributions about unknown quantities of interest to populate economic models. The course is also suitable for researchers in other disciplines who wish to learn about expert elicitation. No previous knowledge of elicitation or of the software package R is assumed.

What does the course deliver?

At the end of this course, participants should:

  • Understand the use of probability distributions to represent uncertainty
  • Be familiar with the techniques available to elicit experts’ probability distributions
  • Be able to facilitate the elicitation of a probability distribution from a single expert and from multiple experts
  • Be able to fit univariate probability distributions to experts’ judgements using the SHELF routines and the software package R
  • Know how to document the elicitation process using the SHELF package

Course content

Five lectures, including practical exercises

  • Using subjective probability distributions to represent uncertainty
  • The psychology of elicitation
  • Eliciting univariate probability distributions from a single expert using SHELF
  • Eliciting probability distributions from groups of experts using SHELF
  • Multivariate elicitation

Cost

Commercial £200
Academic/Government £150

Course fees include lunch and refreshments. Participants will each need a laptop, if you are unable to provide this then we can arrange one for you.

Further information and bookings can be found at http://www.shef.ac.uk/scharr/shortcourseunit/courses_new/elic2010.html

Or contact Jacquie Bennett at jacquie.bennett@sheffield.ac.uk Tel. +44 (0)114 222 2968

permalink September 9, 2010: Short Course

September 12, 2010

Economic Evaluations and Economic Evidence in Healthcare: Finding Information to Inform Technology Assessments and Economic Models: York Health Economics Consortium, University of York

Location: York, UK
Date: 12 October 2010

Further information can be found at: http://php.york.ac.uk/inst/yhec/?q=content/finding-info

If you have any queries about YHEC courses please contact Julie Glanville (e-mail: jmg1@york.ac.uk) or YHEC Support Services, tel: 01904-433620.

permalink September 12, 2010: Training

September 15, 2010

Advanced Modelling Methods for Health Economic Evaluation A Computer Based Course

Location: Glasgow and York, UK
Dates: York: March 29 - 31, 2010; Glasgow: September 2010 (dates to be confirmed)

The Public Health & Health Policy Section at the University of Glasgow and the Centre for Health Economics at the University of York are jointly running three-day courses on advanced modelling methods to be held at venues in Glasgow and York. The next course will be held in 2010, the course will be run at the University of York from 29th - 31st March 2010. Booking forms are online now. The course will be also run in Glasgow in September 2010. Dates to be confirmed. Please contact The Public Health & Health Policy Section at the University of Glasgow directly if you would like to attend the September 2010 course.

This is an advanced course focusing specifically on decision modelling and intended for people currently undertaking modelling for health economic evaluation within the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, consultancy, academia or the health service. Participants would be expected to have attended an advanced course in economic evaluation such as the Expert Workshops in the Socio Economic Evaluation of Medicines run by the University of York.

Further details and booking information is available from the following links York based course or Glasgow based course.

permalink September 15, 2010: Short Course

September 20, 2010

Indirect And Mixed Treatment Comparisons: 3-day course

Location: Leicester, UK
Venue: Vaughan College
Dates: September 20-22 2010

Overview

This course is for health economists, statisticians and decision modellers, and systematic reviewers interested in the extension of pair-wise meta-analysis to indirect and mixed treatment comparisons, in the context of either clinical effectiveness or economic evaluation.

The course focuses on Bayesian methods for statistically combining evidence from networks of trials, integrating statistical estimation within a probabilistic modeling framework. The assumptions underlying both pair-wise meta-analysis and mixed treatment comparisons are critically examined. The course also covers methods for detecting and managing heterogeneity and inconsistency.

This is an informal, hands-on course, based on a mixture of lectures and practical work on published datasets using the Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo package WinBUGS. Course tutors are available throughout to answer questions and help with exercises.

It is a collaboration between the Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester and the Department of Community Based Medicine, University of Bristol.

Intended Audience

  • Anyone undertaking or managing health technology assessments, including in the context of cost-effectiveness analysis,
  • Statisticians, familiar with the principles of meta-analysis, who wish to learn about Bayesian methods for evidence synthesis particularly in the context of cost-effectiveness analysis,
  • Anyone responsible for managing systematic reviews.

Course Faculty

Prof Keith Abrams,
Prof Tony Ades,
Debbi Caldwell,
Nicola Cooper,
Sofia Dias,
Prof Alex Sutton and Nicky Welton

Course Pre-Requisites

Participants should be familiar with the basic principles of meta-analysis, and have a good working knowledge of logistic regression and statistical interaction. Experience with probabilistic decision analysis in cost effectiveness analysis would be an advantage, but is not necessary.

Further Details and Registration Forms from:

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/cobm/research/mpes

permalink September 20, 2010: Short Course

September 30, 2010

Leadership for Productivity and Health Management: Issues, Innovations, and Solutions

Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Date: September 30 - October 1, 2010
Link: https://ccpe.sph.harvard.edu/programs.cfm?CSID=IPHM0000&pg=cluster&CLID=1&utm_source=iHEA&utm_medium=Calendar
Contact: ccpemarketing@hsph.harvard.edu

Leadership for Productivity and Health Management: Issues, Innovations, and Solutions, a new program, is designed to enable participants to identify, characterize, and propagate efficient and effective health programs within employment based health insurance. Focusing on process improvements for C-Suite executives, HR professionals, and company stakeholders, this program will help participants benchmark best practices and implement specific strategies for improving programs, structure company health benefits on empirically sound practices, and learn strategies to maintain and improve individual health, improve productivity, and moderate industry payer costs.

permalink September 30, 2010: Short Course

October 30, 2010

Experimental Design for Stated Choice and advanced modeling of choice data: Venice Foundation

Location: Venice, Italy
Application deadline: 30/10/10

In late September the Venice Foundation offers a one week long advanced course in principles of applied experimental design for stated choice and recent advances in choice modeling.

Note: exclusively for funding reasons the course is ‘embedded’ within a wine-making summer school. This way it can be offered at a lower cost compared to previous years.

The hands-on part of the course will be based on Nlogit and Ngene. While Nlogit is an extended version of the well-known econometric package Limdep, Ngene is a new software specifically designed for experimental design of stated choice.

The instructors will be:

William Greene Stern Business School, New York University (USA) John Rose University of Sydney (Australia); Michiel Bliemer Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands); Riccardo Scarpa University of Waikato (New Zealand).

If you want to know more please go to:

http://tiny.cc/hewng

Registration forms are available from here:

http://tiny.cc/3tcug

permalink October 30, 2010: Short Course

October 31, 2010

PhD Scholarships in Health Economics: Faculty of Business and Economics, The University of Melbourne

Location: Melbourne, Australia
Application deadline: 31 October 2010

The Department of Economics and Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne wishes to fill three PhD scholarships in Health Economics, commencing February 2011. Applicants must have a first class (H1 equivalent) undergraduate degree in economics with honours and/or a masters degree, and with a focus on applied microeconometrics, health economics or labour economics. A dynamic and supportive research environment exists with a strong group of 24 economists working in health. PhD topics would be in the following areas: the social and economic determinants of health and wellbeing (Prof. Michael Shields: mshields@unimelb.edu.au); health, education and development or the determinants and consequences of risky health behaviors (A/Prof. Jenny Williams: jenny.williams@unimelb.edu.au); and the economics of the health care system (Prof. Anthony Scott: a.scott@unimelb.edu.au). Applications for a place can be made at any time, but applicants must submit their application by 31 October 2010 (for entry to Semester One in February 2011) in order to be considered for a scholarship. Scholarships include a living allowance and fee remission. The successful student may also be eligible to receive additional funds through teaching and research assistant activities. Further details of how to apply are at: http://www.gsbe.unimelb.edu.au/research/. Those interested should contact Prof. Michael Shields, or A/Prof. Jenny Williams, or Prof. Anthony Scott.

permalink October 31, 2010: PhD

November 2, 2010

Short course on Analysing patient data: using hospital episode statistics

Location: York, UK
Venue: Centre for Health Economics, University of York
Dates: 2nd - 3rd November 2010

Overview

The Hospital Episode Statistics contain details of all admissions to NHS hospitals and all NHS outpatient appointments in England. HES is the data source for a wide range of healthcare analysis for the NHS, government and research community. This intensive workshop introduces participants to HES data and how to handle and manipulate these very large data sets using computer software. Participants will engage in problem-solving exercises, analysing the information in highly interactive sessions.

Participants

This workshop is only offered to people from the public sector or academia and is suitable for analysts working in NHS hospitals, commissioning organisations and the Department of Health, and for health care researchers and PhD students.

Full details are available here: http://www.york.ac.uk/che/courses/short/patient-data/

permalink November 2, 2010: Short Course

November 10, 2010

Workshop: Using Discrete Choice Experiments in Health Economics: Theoretical and Practical Issues

Location: Aberdeen, UK
Venue: Jury’s Inn
Dates: 10th - 12th November 2010

The Health Economics Research Unit (HERU) is pleased to announce the return of this popular workshop taught by Prof. Mandy Ryan and Dr. Verity Watson. It is increasingly recognised in many publicly provided health care systems that limited resources coupled with unlimited demand require decisions to be made about the efficient allocation of scarce resources. Economic techniques can inform such decisions. One technique adopted, and further developed, by health economists over the past decade is the discrete choice experiment (DCE) (also known as conjoint analysis).

The workshop will provide:

  • Background information on the theoretical basis for, & application of, DCEs
  • Hands-on experience in DCE design, and a practical guide to data input, data analysis, and the interpretation of DCE results
  • An overview of methodological issues and recent developments in the application of DCEs.

This workshop will provide an opportunity for those interested in the application of DCEs to discuss both practical and theoretical issues raised when applying the method. The workshop will include group work sessions with feedback. No knowledge of economics or DCEs is assumed.

Places are limited, if you are interested in attending this workshop, please click here for further information and registration details.

permalink November 10, 2010: Short Course

April 9, 2011

Part 2 Global Health Leadership Forum: An international executive short course: successful approaches and innovation in health policy and management.

Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Dates: April 9-13, 2011 with an optional extended Kaiser Permanente Study Tour through April 15, 2011.

The Global Health Leadership Forum: An international earned certificate course on solutions in health policy and management.

An offering from the University of California, Berkeley, the Barcelona Graduate School of Economics and the Center for Research in Health Economics, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.

The University of California, Berkeley, Barcelona GSE and UPF CRES announce the seventh annual cycle of the Global Health Leadership Forum. This unique certificate program focuses on key health policy and management issues which have been converging internationally. Participating leaders learn about policies and implementation approaches that work and about current innovations. Participants join in small group discussions with global experts, receive leadership training, and become part of the GHLF alumni network of 180 past participants. These leaders hail from 43 countries in a wide variety of occupations such as executives of service delivery, insurance and pharma organizations; professors; ministers of health; and NGO leaders.

Part 1 of The Global Health Leadership Forum will be held in Barcelona, Spain from July 18-23, 2010 and Part 2 will be held in the San Francisco Bay Area from April 9-13, 2011 with an optional extended Kaiser Permanente Study Tour through April 15, 2011.

For more information, visit the website: http://ghlf.berkeley.edu

permalink April 9, 2011: Short Course

June 15, 2011

Health economics, health policy and health management

Location: London, UK
Venue: London School of Economics and Political Science
Length/Date: All courses are 4-5 days in length
Website

December 2010 Courses

  • Health Economics
  • Financing Health Care
  • Measuring Health System Performance
  • Measuring Health Outcomes

June 2011 Courses

  • Resource Allocation and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
  • Health Administration and Management
  • Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy
  • Introduction to Medical Statistics, Clinical Trials and Epidemiology
  • Statistical Methods in Economic Evaluation
  • Healthcare Information Systems

Specific information on the course content and exact dates

Description:

These courses will allow participants to engage with other professionals to achieve one or more of the following objectives, depending on your course choices:

  • Learn about basic health policy and economic principles
  • Develop an understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of health systems and health economics
  • Gain knowledge of management and administration within the context of health care and pharmaceuticals
  • Acquire practical skills to undertake cost-effectiveness analysis, economic evaluation and clinical trials research

Courses will include a combination of lectures and seminars and if appropriate, computer-based workshops.

Contact person:

Jane Schiemann
Programme Administrator
Department of Social Policy
London School of Economics
Houghton Street
London WC2A 2AE
Phone : +44 (0) 207 955 7205
Email : health.shortcourses@lse.ac.uk

permalink June 15, 2011: Short Course

Contact

iHEA 902-461-4432
902-461-IHEA
416-352-1395 fax

Tom GetzenExecutive Director and CEO
215-242-1196

Bill SwanDeputy CEO