Founded in 1995, the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) is one of the leading organizations promoting the research of health economics and value-based care. Currently, ISPOR is comprised of more than 9500 individual and student members representing 114 countries and covering the payer, research, academia, policy, and patient advocacy fields.
ISPOR states that its vision is to improve decision-making in health care through the continued research of health economics and outcomes research. Currently, ISPOR supports this endeavor with three journals: Value in Health, Value in Health: Regional Issues, and Value & Outcomes Spotlight. These journals, the first two of which are peer-reviewed, publish relevant research and insight related to enhancing the value of care and clinical decision-making. In addition, the organization has also developed a number of resources and tools intended to help guide outcomes research and support decision-making.
However, one of the most significant contributions ISPOR makes to the field of health economics and outcomes research comes during its annual meeting, which this year was held in Washington, DC, from May 21 to May 25. Since its inception, the ISPOR annual meeting has been a place for professionals to engage in public debate over health care access, the price and value of pharmaceuticals, and how to sustain and grow the health research enterprise.
At ISPOR 2016, thousands of health care professionals, policy makers, patients, and payer representatives gathered to discuss and learn about new developments in outcomes research and the field of value-based care while also trying to answer what it called the $64,000 question: “Value, Affordability, and Patient Centeredness—Can We Have it All?” This year’s meeting also featured more than 1800 presentations, including planetary sessions on how to speed-up US Food and Drug Administration approvals, ways to improve medical decision making, and how contemporary regulatory and legislative issues affect health outcomes research.
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How Value Frameworks Are Changing US Health Care
Developers of some of the key value frameworks in the industry gathered to discuss how these resources are changing health care.
Perceptions of ICER Reports and Health Technology Assessments in the United States
Presenters provided an overview of how ICER reports and other similar assessments are affecting organizational review and decision-making.
Use of Real-World Evidence Data Among Payer Organizations
In a panel at the ISPOR meeting, members of two prominent pharmacy benefit managers and a large-scale health care insurance company discussed the advantages and challenges of using real-world evidence in payer decision making.
