News Across Asia
Health Policy in Asia ‫ ׀‬Health Technology Assessment ‫ ׀‬Education ‫ ׀‬Outcomes Research ‫ ׀‬ISPOR Asia Consortium ‫ ׀‬Regional Initiatives
ISPOR Asia Consortium
Leadership
Executive Committee
The ISPOR Asia Consortium Newsletter
“Pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research quarterly serving to inform health policy in Asia”
2012-2014 Chair
FEATURED NEWS
Surachat Ngorsuraches, RPh
Prince of Songkla University
Songkhla, Thailand
ISPOR 6th Asia
Asia--Pacific Conference Program
2012-2014 Chair-Elect
25% increase in abstracts submissions, 1,200 attendees expected
Early Registration Deadline is July 22, 2014
Conference scientific program includes 18 short courses, 3 plenary sessions, over 400
posters, 60 research podiums, 25 issue panels / workshops and 5 ISPOR forums
Yen-Huei Tarn, PhD, MS
Taiwan Pharmacist Assoc.
Taipei, Taiwan
Health Policy in Asia
Publication Committee
Syed Mohamed Aljunid, MD, MSc, PhD, FAMM, International Centre for Casemix
and Clinical Coding, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan, Malaysia
Policy Analysis in Malaysia: 3 Central Policy Issues
2012-2014 Chair
Gordon G. Liu, PhD
Peking University
Beijing, mainland China
2012-2014 Chair-Elect
Chee-Jen Chang, PhD
Chang Gung University
Taipei, Taiwan
Editorial Board
Co-Editors
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
HTAnetAsia
HTA Capacity Building in Asia roundtable, Beijing, China
ISPOR Short Courses in Asia
ISPOR 6th Asia-Pacific Conference Short Course Program
Outcomes Research in Asia
Value in Health Regional Issues focusing on Asia 2014
ISPOR Asia Consortium
Gordon G. Liu, PhD
Peking University
Beijing, mainland China
Dixon Thomas, PhD
Nirmala College of
Pharmacy, Muvattupuzha
Kerala, India
Nguyen Thi Bach Yen, MD
Hanoi Medical University
Hanoi, Viet Nam
Asia Consortium Young Professional Group first inaugural meeting
HealthNetIndia: discussing PE guidelines of India
Regional Initiatives
Health policy updates from Australia, India, mainland China, Malaysia and New
Zealand
Member-Reported News
Volume 3 Number 1 Spring Issue (March-May 2014)
ISSN 2308-1945
Copyright © 2014, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR)
News Across Asia
News Across Asia
Co-Editors
Gordon G. Liu
Co-Editor, News Across Asia
Dixon Thomas
Co-Editor, News Across Asia
LETTER FROM THE EDITORS
Dear Friends and Colleagues:
We are very delighted to present you with the Spring 2014 issue of News Across Asia. It is
hard to imagine that we are already on our third volume of the newsletter and that this is our
ninth issue to be published!
There are some important updates to report on within the ISPOR Asia Consortium. The abstract submission period for the ISPOR 6th Asia-Pacific Conference closed on March 20, 2014,
and there was a 25% increase in abstract submissions from the previous conference in Taiwan.
Beijing is shaping up to be the largest ISPOR Asia-Pacific Conference yet, with around 1,200
attendees estimated. The Conference short program was also published in May, which included information on short course faculty and plenary speakers, as well as the scientific program.
( pg. 5) And an important date to remember: the early registration for the conference is July
22, 2014. We hope to see you in Beijing!
Value in Health Regional Issues focusing on Asia 2014 was published this past May, which
was the third Asia issue of ViHRI. In this volume, there are 31 quality articles from countries
including Iran, India, the Philippines, Viet Nam, Thailand, Malaysia, mainland China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea. (pg. 8) These articles cover topics such as
health policy, health economics, patient-reported outcomes, medication compliance, research
methodology, conceptual papers, epidemiology, patient safety, and other clinical outcomes.
The continued growth and success of ViHRI indicates that it is becoming an important peerreviewed online publication in the field of health technology assessment, health economics,
and outcomes research.
On the policy front, this issue features an article that outlines key health policy developments
in Malaysia, covering progress, challenges and opportunities for the health care system in three
central policy issues. (pg. 3-4)
At the recently held ISPOR 19th International Meeting in Montreal, Canada, ISPOR Asia Consortium held eight meetings, and the ISPOR Board of Directors approved two key policy
changes within the Consortium: ISPOR Australia and New Zealand Chapters formally joined
the Asia Consortium, and a student chapter representative position was added to the Executive
Committee. (pg. 9)
Nguyen Thi Bach Yen
Co-Editor, News Across Asia
Editorial Office
These are just a sample of the countless initiatives that ISPOR Asia Consortium members are
involved in. We welcome you to participate and join us in making an impact for positive health
outcomes in Asia.
With warmest regards,
Gordon G. Liu, PhD, Professor of Economics, Peking University National School of Development (NSD) and Executive Director, China Center for Health Economic Research (CCHER),
Beijing, China
Robert Selby
Nancy Sun
Malgorzata (Gosia)
Juszczak– Punwaney
Zandra Yin
There are several health policy updates in Asia reported by ISPOR regional chapter representatives at the ISPOR 19th International Meeting, including Australia, India, mainland China, Malaysia and New Zealand (pg. 10)
Dixon Thomas, PhD, MS, MSc, Nirmala College of Pharmacy, Muvattupuzha, Kerala, India
Nguyen Thi Bach Yen, MD, PhD, Senior Lecturer & Head, Department of Health Economics,
Institute of Preventive Medicine and Public Health Education, Hanoi Medical University,
Hanoi, Viet Nam
Volume 3 Number 1 Spring Issue (March-May 2014)
ISSN 2308-1945
Copyright © 2014, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR)
2
News Across Asia
HEALTH POLICY IN ASIA
Table of Contents
Health Policy in Asia
Health Policy in Malaysia: 3
Central Policy Issues
(Pg. 3-4)
ISPOR 6th Asia-Pacific
Conference Program
(Pg. 5)
HTAnetAsia
(Pg. 6)
ISPOR Short Courses in
Asia
(Pg. 6-7)
Outcomes Research in Asia
(Pg. 8)
ISPOR Asia Consortium
(Pg. 9)
Regional Initiatives
(Pg. 10)
Member-reported News
(Pg. 11)
“
MOH received
only 7.7% of the
government operating
budget, which no way
nears the government
expenditure on education (23.5%) and defense (12.1%).”
Health Policy in Malaysia: 3 Central Policy Issues
Syed Mohamed Aljunid, MD, MSc, PhD, FAMM, International Centre for Casemix and Clinical Coding, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan, Malaysia
T
he Malaysian health system that developed since
the independence from the
British in 1957 is heavily influence by the UK health system. The system is centrally
administered with the Ministry of Health playing a major
role to administer, fund and
manage the services at national, state and even district levels. For the past five decades,
the Government of Malaysia
had made very minimum progress to transform the system
to one that is more competitive and responsive to current
health care need of the population. There are at least three
main policy issues that are
important if one attempts to
examine the present health
system scenario in Malaysia:
Centralisation of Health
Policy Development
One of the major challenges
in facing the Malaysian health
system currently is in the development of sustainable policy to address changing health
care needs of the population.
The government of Malaysia
has been investing quite well
to provide an extensive health
infrastructure throughout the
country. Currently, at the primary health care level, the
basic curative and preventive
services are provided through
2,856 government health centres and community clinics
and more than 6,000 private
clinics 1. The in-patient curative care is provided by 147
public hospitals which covers
75% of the total beds in the
country. All of these services
and facilities are being centrally monitored. The state
and district authorities have
no role in influencing all aspects of services provided by
these facilities. All policies
pertaining to health matters
are developed by the central
level Ministry of Health
(MOH). Even in the three
states of the country governed
by opposition parties, the state
government has a very limited
role on health policies and
decisions. At the central level,
there are also very minimum
consultations with other ministries and other stakeholders
in health services in development of such policies. As
such, whenever new policies
were developed and implemented, many times these
policies failed to address important issues that might affect the provision of quality
and efficient services at the
ground level. Often the policies were not able to reflect
the demand and need of the
local population. Furthermore,
it is not the norm for MOH to
consult with health experts in
other sectors such as in the
universities and private sector
before developing any important policies in health.
Health information systems in
the country are also highly
centralised. Data collated at
the district and state level are
normally sent to MOH head-
quarters for processing and
storing 2. The procedures of
sharing centrally analysed
data with other researchers
outside MOH are unclear and
bureaucratic. Use of these
data for effective decisionmaking is quite limited in
Malaysia. Most of the policy
decisions are more likely to be
influenced by political agendas than professional advice
from researchers and experts.
Health Financing
Overall expenditure on health
in Malaysia is still quite low
compared to many developed
nations in the world. The latest estimate is at 4.4% of
GDP; 53% of which is public
contribution and the remaining 47% are private expenditure, mainly through out-ofpocket spending 1. The public
health services are mainly
funded through the taxation
system. MOH received only
7.7% of the governmentoperating budget, which no
way nears the government
expenditure on education
(23.5%) and defense (12.1%)
3
. The high out-of-pocket expenditure is one of the reasons
why the government is trying
to establish the national health
financing system based on
social health insurance. For
the past three decades the efforts to set up the social health
insurance programme were
not successful.
Continue on next page...
Volume 3 Number 1 Spring Issue (March-May 2014)
ISSN 2308-1945
Copyright © 2014, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR)
3
News Across Asia
Announcements
 25% Increase in Abstract
Submissions
ISPOR 6th Asia-Pacific Conference had 650 submissions,
a 25% increase, with 1,200
attendees expected
Visit the conference website
 ISPOR 6th Asia-Pacific
Conference Program
The conference program has
been published and is available
to view
View the conference program
 ISPOR 6th Asia-Pacific
Conference Chinese
Program
View the Chinese program
 ViHRI focusing on Asia 2014
ViHRI Asia 2014 is now published with 31 articles
View the latest issue
 ViHRI focusing on Asia 2015
call for manuscripts
Manuscripts submissions are
due September 15, 2014
Submit a manuscript
 ISPOR Asia Consortium
meetings held during ISPOR
19th International meeting
Eight meetings were held which
included the Asia Consortium
Business meeting and networking
reception
“
Despite the significant private
sector infrastructure
and workforce, there is
a strict division between public and private sectors in the
country.”
HEALTH POLICY IN ASIA - CONTINUED
Among the reasons for such
failure is the lack of technical
capacity within MOH to develop the system, inadequate
consultations with major
stakeholders in the country,
intense lobbying by private
insurers and lack of political
will to transform the current
health financing system 4.
Health financing experts from
within the counties but outside
MOH were not being effectively utilised by the government to develop the system.
Instead, MOH brings in the so
-called “experts” from international donors with very
little exposure on the national
health system to support them.
Many times the models proposed by these international
consultants failed to be supported by major stakeholders
in the country.
Public and private
healthcare interface
Private health care providers
play significant complementary roles in providing high
quality services appealing to
consumers. Currently, there
are 209 private hospitals
providing 25% of the inpatient services in the country
1
. There are 6,675 private
medical clinics in the country;
most of them are providing
primary care services. There
are 11,240 or 29% of the medical doctors working in the
private sector. Despite the
significant private sector infrastructure and workforce,
there is a strict division between public and private sectors in the country. The interface between the two sectors
is minimal; public doctors are
not allowed to work in or own
private health facilities. Although this division is to certainly extend some good outcomes in preventing abuses of
public health care facilities
and prevent these facilities
from becoming the channelling centre, the health workforce in government services
loses highly talented and
skilled human resources to
private health services within
the country. It was estimated
that nearly 70% of medical
specialists are now in the private health sector even though
only 30% of complicated cases requiring specialists’ care
are being managed in this
sector. Over the past five
years the government tried to
address these issues by allowing limited private practice in
public facilities by setting up
private wings in government
hospitals. A number of government teaching hospitals
have taken this step but the
outcome was not encouraging.
Monitoring mechanisms to
ensure that doctors in public
hospitals do not neglect publicly funded patients by giving
priority to privately funded
patients were not adequately
put in place. Furthermore,
there is very limited information available on the outcome of this programme in
preventing specialists and
doctors from leaving the public sector.
The three issues highlighted
here are very important aspects of the Malaysian health
system that need to be addressed by policy makers.
Failure to do so may put the
current system at risk and may
not be able for the country to
achieve universal coverage,
which is one of the goals set
by many developing countries
in this millennium.
References
1. Ministry of Health Malaysia (2013). Health Facts Malaysia 2013
2. Syed Mohamed Aljunid,
Samrit Srithamrongsawat,
Wen Chen, Seung Jin Bae,
Raoh-Fang Pwu, Shunya
Ikeda, Ling Xu (2012) HealthCare Data Collecting, Sharing, and Using in Thailand,
China Mainland, South Korea,
Taiwan, Japan, and Malaysia.
Value in Health: 15: S 132S138.
3. Ministry of Finance Malaysia (2013). Economic Report
2013/2014
4. Viroj Tangcharoensathien,
Walaiporn Patcharanarumol,
Por Ir, Syed Mohamed
Aljunid, Ali Ghufron Mukti,
Kongsap Akkhavong, Eduardo Banzon, Dang Boi Huong, Hasbullah Thabrany and
Anne Mills (2011). Health
Financing Reforms in South
East Asia: challenges in
achieving universal coverage.
Lancet 377: 863-873
Reviewer
Kenneth KC Lee, BSc
(Pharm), MPhil, PhD, Professor of Pharmacy and Head of
Pharmacy Programme, School
of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Volume 3 Number 1 Spring Issue (March-May 2014)
ISSN 2308-1945
Copyright © 2014, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR)
4
News Across Asia
ISPOR 6th ASIA-PACIFIC CONFERENCE
25% Increa
se in
Abstracts!
Over 600 pr
esentations
th
ISPOR 6 Asia-Pacific Conference
Program
The ISPOR 6th Asia-Pacific Conference abstract submission window closed March 20,
2014, and there were 650 submissions, an
increase of 25% from the previous ISPOR 5th
Asia-Pacific Conference in Taiwan, 2012.
The ISPOR 6th Asia-Pacific Conference is
projected to be the largest ISPOR AsiaPacific Conference ever, with 1,200 attendees
expected.
The Conference program was published in
May, and includes the short course program,
plenary sessions and ISPOR forums and scientific presentations. Apart from the 18 short
courses and 3 plenary sessions featured, there
will also be over 400 poster presentations, 60
research podiums, 25 issue panels / workshops and 5 ISPOR forums.
Key date to remember: the early registration deadline for the conference is July
22, 2014
First Plenary Session
Hearing the Patient's Voice in Health Care
Decision Making in Asia
Health care is for the patient, but the patient's
voice is often lost in the debate among different stakeholders. This is particularly true in
health care delivery and health care policymaking in Asia where health care providers,
payers and producers usually dominate the
discussion. Patient groups are established to
amplify the patient's voice not only at the
health care delivery level, but also at the formulary and reimbursement level. This session
will discuss challenges and opportunities for
how patient perspectives can be incorporated
into health care decisions in Asia through the
efforts of patient organizations.
Moderator: Bong-Min Yang, PhD, Professor of Economics, School of Public Health,
Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
Speakers:
Representative, National Health and Family
Planning Commission (NHFPC), Beijing,
China; Tao Guan, Patient and Founder, the
Hemophilia Home of China, Beijing, China;
Hsiao-Yi Lin, MD, Executive Director &
Chairman of Reimbursement Policy Response Committee, Taiwan Rheumatology
Association, Chief Physician, Division of
Allergy, Immunology & Rheumatology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, and Associate
Professor, School of Medicine, National
Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; John
Forman, Executive Director, New Zealand
Organization for Rare Disorders, Thorndon,
Wellington, New Zealand
Pharmacy Research Centre, University of
South Australia, Australia; Judith K. Jones,
MD, PhD, Executive Director, DGI, LLC and
Primary Editor, B.R.I.D.G.E. TO DATA ®,
formerly Director, US FDA’s Division of
Drug and Biological Experience (now Office
of Safety & Epidemiology), Fairfax, VA,
USA
Second Plenary Session
Electronic Health Records for Informed
Health Care in Asia-Pacific: Learning
from Each Other
Health care data is essential for evidencebased decision making, but with the current
data deficit in Asia, providers, researchers
and policymakers are often limited in how
they can better apply the knowledge and
make the right decision for the patient. Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are an important resource for capturing patients' up-todate health information accurately and completely for smarter health care. This session
will focus on issues that the health care systems in Asia are facing in developing EHR
software, collecting and using data, as well as
privacy concerns. International experience
and lessons-learned will be shared and how
EHRs can be adopted in Asia will be examined.
Moderator: Jianfei (Jeff) Guo, PhD, RPh,
Professor of Pharmacoeconomics & Pharmacoepidemiology, Division of Pharmacy
Practice & Administrative Sciences, College
of Pharmacy, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
Speakers: Daopu Xie, Director, Huangzhou
Municipal Medical Insurance Bureau,
Zhejiang Province, China; Naoto Kume,
PhD, Associate Professor, EHR Research
Unit, Department of Social Informatics,
Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan; Libby
Roughead, PhD, Research Professor, Division of Health Sciences, School of Pharmacy
and Medical Sciences, and Director, the Quality Use of Medicines and Pharmacy Research
Centre, the Quality Use of Medicines and
Third Plenary Session
China Health Care Reform: Who Gains
and Who Loses?
Health care reform, launched in 2009, has
brought significant changes to the health care
system and infrastructure in China, and has
created new opportunities for different stakeholders. As reform has been implemented in
the past decade, the question has become
“Who are the true winners and who are the
losers? Is the reform successful in achieving
its goal of equality and quality of care for all
patients? During this session, experiences and
lessons learned with South Korea’s successful
health care reform, USA’s Affordable Health
Care Act (Obamacare), as well health care
reform in China will be debated. The trend of
China heath care reform for the next decade
will also be explored.
Moderator: Isao Kamae, MD, DrPH, Professor of Health Technology Assessment and
Public Policy, Graduate School of Public
Policy, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Speakers: Gordon G. Liu, PhD, Professor
of Economics, National School of Development, and Director, China Center for Health
Economic Research, Peking University, Beijing, China; Soonman Kwon, Professor of
Health Economics and Policy in the Program
of Health Care Management and Policy and
Dean of Graduate School of Public Health,
Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea; Joel Hay, PhD, MS, Mphil, Professor of
Pharmaceutical Economics & Policy, USC
Schaeffer Center, University of Southern
California, Calabasas, CA, USA; Bernhard
Schwartländer, PhD, World Health Organization Representative in China, Beijing,
China
Volume 3 Number 1 Spring Issue (March-May 2014)
ISSN 2308-1945
Copyright © 2014, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR)
5
News Across Asia
ISPOR Asia Consortium
Education Committee
Leadership
ISPOR Asia Consortium
Education Committee
2012-2014 Chair
Bruce Crawford, MA, MPH
Adelphi Values
Tokyo, Japan
HTAnetASIA
HTAnetAsia Roundtable, Beijing, China
ISPOR Asia Consortium will host an HTA roundtable on “HTA Capacity
Building in Asia” on Saturday September 6 - Sunday September 7, 014 in
Beijing, China, during the ISPOR 6th Asia-Pacific Conference. There will
over 20 delegates from countries / regions including India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan,
Laos, mainland China, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and
Viet Nam. There will also be key representatives from EUnetHTA and WHO Asia regional
offices. This will be an important opportunity for information sharing between decision makers from Asia in a closed-door setting.
Additional HTA events in Asia
2012-2014 Chair-Elect
Bhagwan Aggarwal, PhD,
MBA
Nat’l Inst. Occupational Health
Almedabad, India
Asia Consortium Short Course
Committee Members
2012-2014 Chair
Wen Chen, PhD
Shanghai, Mainland China
Past Chair
Usa Chaikledkaew, PhD
Bangkok, Thailand
Members:
Jeonghoon Ahn, PhD, MA
Seoul, Korea
Jawahar Bapna, PhD, MD
Jaipur, India
Hsing Luh, PhD
Taipei, Taiwan
Ashar Muhammad Malik,
MSc, MA
Karachi, Pakistan
Young Joo Song, PhD
Seoul, Korea
4th Fellowship program on Health Technology Assessment (HTA), Chennai, India
Jitendar Sharma, PhD, Head-Division of Healthcare Technology, National Health Systems
Resource Center, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India
The Division of Healthcare Technology, NHSRC and Healthcare Technology Innovation Center (HTIC-IIT Madras) will be conducting a six day fellowship program on Health Technology
Assessment (HTA). The 4th Fellowship is scheduled from 28th July to 2nd August 2014.
For more details, course flyer and registration form could be accessed on the link below:
HTA fellowship program information
ISPOR SHORT COURSES IN ASIA
The ISPOR Asia Consortium Short Course Program Committee approved the selection of
short course faculty which was published in the program. There are 18 short courses featured
in Beijing with 5 new courses:
Introduction to Pharmacoeconomics / Health Economics
Faculty: David B. Matchar, MD, Professor, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore; Hong Li, PhD, MPH, Group Director, Sino-American Shanghai Squibb Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Shanghai, China
New! Cost Effectiveness Analysis alongside Clinical Trials
Faculty: Chee-Jen Chang, PhD, Professor, Chang Gung University, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan;
Lizheng Shi, PhD, MS, Associate Professor, Tulane University SPHTM, New Orleans, LA,
USA
Introduction to Modeling
Faculty: Shu-Chuen Li, PhD, MS, MBA, Chair & Head, School of Biomedical Sciences &
Pharmacy, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia; Jipan Xie, MD, PhD, Vice
President, Analysis Group, Inc., Boston, MA, USA
Patient-Reported Outcomes Assessment
Faculty: Bruce Crawford, MA, MPH, Managing Director, Asia / Senior Vice President,
Adelphi Values, Tokyo, Japan; Nan Luo, PhD, Assistant Professor, National University of
Singapore, Singapore
Elements of Pharmaceutical / Biotech Pricing
Faculty: Jack M. Mycka, Global President & CEO, MME LLC, Montclair, NJ, USA; Shanlian Hu, MD, MSc, Director, Professor, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Manny Papadimitropoulos, PhD, Director, Eli Lilly and Company, Toronto, ON, Canada
Volume 3 Number 1 Spring Issue (March-May 2014)
ISSN 2308-1945
Copyright © 2014, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR)
6
News Across Asia
ISPOR第六届亚太大会
培训课程
(ISPOR Short Courses during the
6th Asia-Pacific Conference)
星期六，9
星期六，9月6日
药物经济学/卫生经济学导论
临床试验中的成本效果分析
(新)
模型法介绍
病人自报结果的评估
药品/生物技术定价
卫生技术评估导论
卫生经济评估中的统计学问题
模型法的设计和结构
回顾性数据库的设计与分析
健康相关的生命质量测定
(新)
比较效果研究中的Meta分析和
系统综述
卫生技术评估的案例研究(新)
星期天，9
星期天，9月7日
医疗设备和诊断技术的結果
研究导论(新)
预算影响分析和成本分析
国家之间成本效果数据的转换
网络Meta分析和间接的治疗
比较
亚洲各国的医保报销制度
药物和医疗设备的风险分担/
按绩效为基础的谈判方案
ISPOR SHORT COURSES IN ASIA - 2
Introduction to Health Technology Assessment
Faculty: Uwe Siebert, MD,
MPH, MSc, ScD, Professor,
University for Health Sciences,
Hall/Innsbruck, Austria; Jeonghoon Ahn, PhD, MS, Senior
Director, National Evidencebased healthcare Collaborating
Agency, Seoul, South Korea;
Kun Zhao, MD, PhDc, MHSc,
Professor, Ministry of Health,
Beijing, China; Jasmine RaohFang Pwu, PhD, Director,
Center for Drug Evaluation,
Taipei, Taiwan
Statistical Considerations in
Health Economic Evaluations
Faculty: Jalpa A. Doshi, PhD,
Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA;
Chee-Jen Chang, PhD, Professor, Chang Gung University,
Tao-Yuan, Taiwan
Modeling: Design and Structure of a Model
Faculty: Hsiu-Hsi (Tony)
Chen, PhD, Professor, National Taiwan University, Taipei,
Taiwan
Retrospective Database Design and Analysis
Faculty: Jeff J. Guo, PhD, B.
Pharm, Professor, University
of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH,
USA; Xin Sun, PhD, Professor, Sichuan University,
Chengdu, China
New! Health-Related Quality
of Life (HRQOL) Weights for
Economic Evaluations
Faculty: Alex Z. Fu, PhD,
Associate Professor,
Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA; Nan Luo,
PhD, Assistant Professor, National University of Singapore,
Singapore
Meta-Analysis and Systematic Literature Review in Comparative Effectiveness
Research
Faculty: Nathorn Chaiyakunapruk, PhD, PharmD, Professor, Monash University Malaysia, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia;
Peter Feng Wang, MD, PhD,
Director, Bristol-Meyers
Squibb, Princeton, NJ, USA
MD, PhD, MSc, Professor,
Lyon I University, Lyon,
France; Jasmine Raoh-Fang
Pwu, PhD, Director, Center for
Drug Evaluation, Taipei, Taiwan
Network Meta-Analysis and
Indirect Treatment
Comparisons
Faculty: Shannon Cope, MSc,
Senior Research Manager, MANew! Case Studies in Health PI Consultancy, Boston, MA,
USA; Nathorn ChaiyakunTechnology Assessment
apruk, PhD, PharmD, ProfesFaculty: Uwe Siebert, MD,
MPH, MSc, ScD, Professor,
sor, Monash University MalayUniversity for Health Sciences, sia, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia;
Hall/Innsbruck, Austria; Kun
Jeonghoon Ahn, PhD, MS,
Zhao, MD, PhDc, MHSc, Pro- Senior Director, National Evifessor, Ministry of Health, Bei- dence-based healthcare Collabjing, China; Jasmine Raohorating Agency, Seoul, South
Fang Pwu, PhD, Director,
Korea; Peter Feng Wang, MD,
Center for Drug Evaluation,
PhD, Director, Bristol-Meyers
Taipei, Taiwan; Junho Jang,
Squibb, Princeton, NJ, USA
PhD, MPH, Deputy Manager,
Health Care Reimbursement
Health Insurance Review &
Systems
Assessment Service, Seoul,
Faculty: Christian Gericke,
South Korea
PhD, MD, MPH, MSc, Chief
Executive Officer, Wesley ReNew! Introduction to Outsearch Institute, Toowong,
comes Research for Medical
Australia; Donald Yin, PhD,
Devices & Diagnostics
Faculty: Seema Sonnad, PhD, Associate Vice President &
Head, Merck, Whitehouse StaDirector, The Value Institute,
Christiana Care Health System, tion, NJ, USA
Newark, DE, USA; Libo Tao,
New! Risk-Sharing / PerforPhD, Senior HEOR Manager,
Becton Dickinson China, Bei- mance-Based Schemes for
Drugs & Medical Devices
jing, China
Faculty: Adrian Towse, MA,
MPhil, Director, Office of
Budget Impact and Cost
Health Economics (OHE), LonAnalysis
don, United Kingdom; Yingyao
Faculty: C. Daniel Mullins,
Chen, PhD, Professor, Fudan
PhD, Professor, University of
Maryland School of Pharmacy, University, Shanghai, China
Baltimore, MD, USA; Wen-Yi
Shau, PhD, Principal ReTo see full descriptions of the
searcher, Center for Drug Eval- ISPOR short courses during the
ISPOR 6th Asia-Pacific Conuation, Taipei, Taiwan
ference, please visit the conferTransferability of Costence page.
Effectiveness Analysis
Faculty: Mondher Toumi,
(新)
Volume 3 Number 1 Spring Issue (March-May 2014)
ISSN 2308-1945
Copyright © 2014, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR)
7
News Across Asia
Call for Papers!
Submit a manuscript to ViHRI
for the following topics:
•Economic Evaluation
•Patient-Reported Outcomes
(PRO) or Quality of Life
(QOL) Studies
•Clinical Outcomes Studies
•Health Policy Analysis
•Conceptual Analysis
For inclusion in ViHRI
Volume 6, submit your
manuscripts by
September 15, 2014
Reviewers Needed
Interested in serving as reviewer for Value in Health
Regional Issues focusing on
Asia or CEEWAA?
We are seeking qualified
reviewers who can review
manuscripts in the following
areas of outcomes research:
•Economic Evaluation
•Patient-Reported Outcomes
(PRO) or Quality of Life
(QOL) Studies
•Clinical Outcomes Studies
•Health Policy Analysis
Register to become a reviewer by emailing
vihriasia@ispor.org
OUTCOMES RESEARCH IN ASIA
Value in Health Regional Issues 2014 Volume 3, focusing on Asia, has been
published. This volume includes 31 quality articles that cover a broad spectrum
of topics.
Issue Highlights
Editorial
 A Year of Significant Progress for Value in Health Regional Issues
Economic Evaluation
 A Systematic Review on the Extent and Quality of Pharmacoeconomic Publications for
China
In this article, Rascati et al. evaluate the extent and quality of published pharmacoeconomic
studies based in China.
Clinical Outcomes Studies
 Would It Matter to Expose Elderly Patients Who Took Digoxin to Chinese Medications?
Lin et al. explore the extent of the concurrent use of digoxin with Chinese medications
(CMs), its contributing factors, and the relevant consequences.
Health Policy Analysis
 The Health Technology Assessment Environment in Mainland China, Japan, South Korea,
And Taiwan - Implications for the Evaluation of Diabetes Mellitus Therapies
In this article, Ikeda et al. provide an overview of how current utility values were obtained in
the cost-utility analysis (CUA) for pharmaceuticals in Japan based on the methodological
guidelines developed in England and Wales, Australia, Canada, France, and Japan, by conducting a systematic review of published literature.
Patient-Reported Outcomes (PRO) or Quality of Life (QOL) Study
 Usefulness of Patient-Generated Index for HIV (PGI-HIV) to Measure Individual Quality of
Life: A Study from Thailand
In this article, Sakthong et al. measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Thai HIV
patients using the patient-generated index for HIV (PGI-HIV) and compare the psychometric
properties of the PGI-HIV with those of the EQ-5D and the MOS-HIV in terms of practicality, reliability, validity, and responsiveness.
Conceptual Analysis
 Estimating the Incidence and Prevalence of Chronic Hepatitis C Infection in Taiwan Using
Back Projection
McKwan et al. estimate the number of patients living with chronic Hepatitis C virus (HCV)
in Taiwan and quantify the expected numbers in each of the five Metavir fibrosis stages.
Research on Methods
 Models to Predict the Burden of Cardiovascular Disease Risk in a Rural Mountainous
Region of Vietnam
In this article, Nguyen et al. compare and identify the most appropriate model to predict cardiovascular disease in a rural area in Northern Vietnam, using data on hypertension from the
communities.
**Click here to view the full issue
Reviewer Acknowledgements
We wish to thank all of the reviewers for ViHRI Volume 3, focusing on Asia! View the
acknowledgements here.
Volume 3 Number 1 Spring Issue (March-May 2014)
ISSN 2308-1945
Copyright © 2014, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR)
8
News Across Asia
ISPOR ASIA CONSORTIUM
Asia Consortium Contributions and Activities
ISPOR Asia Consortium held leadership meetings
during the ISPOR 19th International Meeting in Montreal, Canada.
ISPOR Founding Executive Director
Marilyn Dix Smith addresses the Asia
Consortium Business Meeting.
Asia Consortium HealthNetIndia Meeting was led by Dr. Nirmal Gurbani and
Dr. Sunita Nair and had over 30 Indian
professionals in attendance.
Business meeting attendees listen intently to the informative health system and
policy updates by ISPOR chapter representatives in Asia.
Asia Consortium Business Meeting
The Asia Consortium business meeting included a
welcome from ISPOR President William Crown, and
ISPOR President-Elect Adrian Towse was also in
attendance. ISPOR Founding Executive Director
Marilyn Dix Smith also gave warm remarks and
thanks to the Asia Consortium founding members for
their continued leadership and support over the years.
The meeting also featured key updates from the Asia
Consortium working committees, as well as highly
informative health policy updates from countries in
Asia. Finally, Dr. Isao Kamae gave a brief presentation tribute on ISPOR Asia Consortium Ten Year
Anniversary (2004-2014).
Young professionals were given the
opportunity to present their research
interests and professional accomplishments during the reception.
Asia Consortium Leadership Meeting
There was discussion about the upcoming ISPOR 7th
Asia-Pacific Conference, including status updates on
the progress. Members discussed which country could
host the ISPOR 9th Asia-Pacific Conference in 2020.
ISPOR AsiaAsia-Pacific Conference Committee
Meeting
Several key issues were discussed during the conference committee meeting. The first issue was regarding the possibility of translating short course slides
into Chinese, as well as translating the program into
Chinese, to help promote the conference content to
local attendees in Beijing. The second topic was regarding the welcome reception held on Saturday and
New! Asia Consortium Young Professionals
Asia Consortium reception held on Sunday. It was
Meeting
suggested that the receptions feature a slide show and
The objectives of the Young Professional Group are
theme celebrating the 10th anniversary of Asia Conto develop initiatives to provide opportunities to
young professionals on career development, training sortium.
and networking with experts in the field of health
Asia Consortium Health Technology Producers
economics.
(Industry) Committee Meeting
The Asia Consortium Industry Committee Meeting
discussed the recent progress of the Industry Committee, including the formation of the ASEAN Affairs
Group, and activities of the China Affairs Group and
Medical Device and Diagnostics Group. A key initiative of the committee was the upcoming forum on
“Evolving Health Systems in Asia: Opportunities and
Challenges for Industry” which will be held during
the ISPOR 6th Asia-Pacific Conference in Beijing.
ISPOR Asia Consortium young professionals with Dr.
Tony Tarn and Dr. Isao Kame
The lively networking reception was an
opportunity for participants to connect.
Towse to provide a welcome. Several young professionals from Asia Consortium presented briefly on
their research interests and achievements. This was
an opportunity for networking and career development.
HealthNetIndia Meeting
Over 30 attendees discussed the recent progress on
the draft pharmacoeconomic guidelines of India.
New initiatives were also discussed, including establishing working groups in the network such as education, publication and research groups to help publish
articles and raise awareness among stakeholders in
India.
ViHRI Asia & CEE Editorial Board / Editorial
Advisory Board Meeting
During the meeting, attendees discussed the following
key topics: citations, plagiarism, multiple language
keywords, recruiting quality reviewers, improving
manuscript quality, establishing an excellent manuscript award and holding a VIHRI forum on manuscript writing during the ISPOR 6th Asia-Pacific
Conference.
Asia Consortium Policy Updates
ISPOR Asia Consortium has undergone some recent
policy changes following approval by the ISPOR
Asia Consortium Networking Reception
Board of Directors. The first change was that the
The Asia Consortium Networking Reception was
Board approved the inclusion of ISPOR Australia
highly dynamic and well-attended, with nearly 100
and New Zealand Chapters into the ISPOR Asia
colleagues participating. The reception was opened
Consortium. The second change was that a Student
by incoming Asia Consortium Executive Committee Chapter representative position was added to the
Chair Dr. Yen-Huei Tony Tarn, and ISPOR President Executive Committee of the ISPOR Asia Consortium.
William Crown and ISPOR President-Elect Adrian
Volume 3 Number 1 Spring Issue (March-May 2014)
ISSN 2308-1945
Copyright © 2014, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR)
9
News Across Asia
ISPOR Regional Chapters /
Networks in Asia
HealthNetIndia
Armenia Chapter
Australia Chapter
Beijing Chapter
Chinese MDA-PE Chapter
Hong Kong Chapter
India Chapter
India-Andhra Pradesh Chapter
India-Karnataka Chapter
India-West Bengal Chapter
Indonesia Chapter
Iran Chapter
Israel Chapter
Japan Chapter
Jordan Chapter
Kazakhstan Chapter
Korea Chapter
Kuwait Chapter
Malaysia Chapter
Mongolia Chapter
New Zealand Chapter
Pakistan Chapter
Philippines Chapter
Qatar Chapter
Russia Far East Chapter
Saudi Arabia Chapter
Shanghai Chapter
Singapore Chapter
Taiwan Chapter
Thailand Chapter
Turkish SCP Chapter
United Arab Emirates Chapter
Viet Nam-Hanoi Chapter
ISPOR REGIONAL INITIATIVES IN ASIA
Regional Health System Updates
Information was taken from presentations at
the ISPOR Asia Consortium Business Meeting, ISPOR 19th International Meeting.
There are some health policy changes occurring in Malaysia. The government is now requiring pharmacoeconomics evidence to be
submitted to get formulary approval for medicines. A minimum amount of data is still required, and localized data is highly preferred.
New Zealand
Reported by Chris Carswell of ISPOR New
Zealand Chapter
The New Zealand government plans to subject
all medical devices to a uniform assessment
procedure, first beginning with dressings and
Australia
sutures, and then moving to all medical devicReported by George Papadopoulos from
es. Another interesting initiative is the suggesISPOR Australia chapter
With the recent budget passed by the govern- tion that the government should launch a drug
ment, more costs are transferring to the patient fund for orphan diseases and their high-priced
medicines.
through increasing co-pays for medical services and for pharmaceuticals. Additionally,
Additional Regional News
evidence thresholds for reimbursement of
ISPOR Arabic Network
devices / diagnostics are rising.
The ISPOR Arabic Network completed elecChina mainland
tions of the Executive Committee Chairs with
Reported by Li Yang and Wen Chen from
Ibrahim Al-Abbadi, RPharm, MBA, PhD,
ISPOR Beijing and Shanghai chapters
elected as 2014-2016 Chair and Abdulaziz AlFollowing the 2009 health care reform, proSaggabi, MSc, PharmD, as 2014-2016 Chairgress on improving health insurance and priElect.
mary care is ongoing. Payment reforms such
The ISPOR Arabic Network also held an Araas pharmaceutical services, global budget and
bic Network Forum presentation during the
diagnosis-related groups (DRG), as well as
ISPOR 19th International Meeting on Capacity
private hospital reform had been encouraged
Building in Pharmacoeconomics in the Arabic
by the central and local government.
-Speaking Countries: Challenges & Opportunities in Education and Training. To view the
India
Reported by Nirmal Gurbani of ISPOR India complete presentation, please visit Released
Presentations.
Chapter
The government recently recommended a policy that whatever market prices on drugs exist, Health Care Challenges faced by Arabic
they will administer an average price for those Speaker Countries
companies which have 1% of the turnover of
the whole market-share. While it was just a
recommendation, there is likelihood that the
new government that has been formed in India
will have the mandate and political will to
enact sweeping changes to ensure further application of pharmacoeconomics and equity of Dr. Al-Saggabi, Director, Drug Policy & Economics Center, Ministry of National Guard
access to medicines.
Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia disMalaysia
cussed these issues in the following interview:
Reported by Soraya Azmi of ISPOR Malaysia View the interview on Youtube
Chapter
West China Chapter
Volume 3 Number 1 Spring Issue (March-May 2014)
ISSN 2308-1945
Copyright © 2014, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research 10
News Across Asia
Join the ISPOR
Asia Consortium!
Become a member of our
growing organization and help
make a positive impact on
health outcomes in Asia. Joining is free (click here), with
opportunities to access our numerous resources and initiatives in the region through our
platform:
Over 650 members and
Growing
8 active working committees
including HTAnetAsia
25 ISPOR Regional
Chapters and HealthNetIndia
Members collaborate on the
following initiatives:
*ISPOR Biennial Asia-Pacific
Conferences
*Scientific publications ViHRI (Asia)
*Regional face-to-face
Meetings
*Capacity-building initiatives
*Scientific research
Collaboration
*Health policy roundtables
*Regional teleconferences
Member access to ISPOR
Resources:
*Online health policy
Articles
*Health systems information
*PE guidelines
*Essential drug lists
*Check out the ISPOR Asia
Consortium homepage for
more information!
MEMBER-REPORTED NEWS
Medical Device Reimbursement in Korea:
Call for New Approach
Sang-Soo Lee, Corporate Affairs Director, Medtronic Korea Co., Ltd, Seoul, Korea
ISPOR Asia Consortium members Sang-Soo
Lee, Corporate Affairs Director at Medtronic
Korea, Seoul, and Eugene Salole, Principal at
Value-Based Access, Sydney, published a critique of the current system of coverage and pricing of medical devices in Korea (Medical device
reimbursement coverage and pricing rules in
Korea: current practice and issues with access to
innovation. ViH 2014; 17: 476-481). The authors highlight the two key issues: allocation of
appropriate prices to innovative technologies and
the reduction of reimbursement for older products (necessary to make budgetary headroom),
and conclude that though there has been progress
in the regulations over the last decade, there
remains considerable scope for improvement
with regard to fairness and transparency of process.
Drug Evaluation in India
Pradeep Muragundi, Assistant Professor, Manipal University, Manipal, India
An article was published by Mr. Pradeep M Muragundi, titled Pharmacoeconomics – fourth
dimension for drug evaluation in India, in CURRENT SCIENCE, vol. 106, No. 8, 25 April 2014
issue which mentions the leadership of ISPOR in
developing pharmacoeconomics guidelines for
India. The article can be accessed here.
ESSEC Business School Executive Workshop
“Methods for the Economic Evaluation of
Health Care Technologies” – 1-5 July 2014
Allen Lai, Director, Institute of Health Economics and Management, ESSEC Business School,
Singapore
Growing economies and increasing investments
in health care in the Asia-Pacific region are creating demand for larger access to innovative and
costly health care technologies such as pharmaceuticals or medical devices. As a result, governments or health insurance providers are increasingly aiming at ensuring that the most efficient
options are chosen.
Economic evaluation aims at balancing costs and
benefits between alternative technologies to assess their relative efficiency. Leveraging on its
expertise and research in this field, ESSEC Busi-
ness School has designed a high level Executive
Workshop especially for professionals in charge
of adapting foreign studies to the specificities of
their countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
Through the program, participants will acquire
the fundamentals of economic evaluation methods applied to health care technologies. They
will be able to define processes and resources
required for successful performance and ensure
that the results of economic evaluation applied to
local contexts will be taken into consideration by
decision makers.
The next session of “Methods of Economic
Evaluation of Health Care Industry” workshop is
planned in Singapore on 1st to 5th July 2014.
For more information about the program, do not
hesitate to contact ESSEC Asia-Pacific Executive Education at execedasia@essec.edu / +65
6835 7142 or visit ESSEC’s website
www.essec.edu/asia
Asia Pacific's MSc Management of Health
Industries
ESSEC Business School’s MSc in Management
of Health Industries (intake in Singapore December 2014) will be the first of its kind to provide
comprehensive insights into health care management from the European experience, integrating
regional health care management best practices
within the Asian context. The MSc program is
designed for high-potential post-graduates with a
background in life sciences, medicine, pharmacy
or business management, as well as young professionals who will take on new roles and responsibilities in biotechnology, medical devices,
pharmaceutical companies or healthcare organizations. Graduates of the MSc in Management of
Health Industries can aim at working in managerial roles in the Health Industries. The program
takes place over 10 months with internship opportunities. Core classes are conducted during
weekday evenings and weekends, feasible for
working professionals or post-graduate students.
Scholarships are available at a competitive basis.
Application deadline is 15 October 2014. Early
bird waiver applies. Applications are to be made
at http://www.essec.edu/programs/advancedmasters-msmscs/msc-in-management-of-healthindustries.html. Please direct your inquiry to Dr.
Allen Lai at allen.lai@essec.edu
Volume 3 Number 1 Spring Issue (March-May 2014)
ISSN 2308-1945
Copyright © 2014, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR)
11
CALL FOR NEWS
ISPOR 6TH
ASIA-PACIFIC
CONFERENCE
We welcome the following
news items for News Across
Asia:
HTA/Health Policies in
6-9 September 2014
Asia
Your insights on health care
policy trends and updates of
HEOR/HTA in Asia
HE/OR Education in Asia
HE/OR/HTA degree programs or training opportunities in Asia
Outcomes Research in Asia
Your insights on the recent
status of HE/OR research in
your country
Member Accomplishments
Your accomplishments in
HEOR, i.e. articles/books
published, scientific presentations made and your participations in the health care decision making process in your
country
Beijing International Convention Center
Beijing, China
Patients: The Center of Evolving Health Care in Asia-Pacific
650 abstract submissio
ns
A 25% increase
1,200 attendees expect
ed
Early Registration Deadline is 22 July 2014
Featured Program






18 Short Courses (5 new short courses)
3 Plenary Sessions
Over 400 poster presentations
60 research podium presentations
25 issue panels / workshops
5 ISPOR forums
To see the complete program, click here>>
ISPOR Asia Chapter
Initiatives
Letter to the Editors
Your comments to the News
Across Asia previous issues.
SUBMIT ALL
COMMENTS AND NEWS
TO:
asiaconsortium@ispor.org
Visit the Chinese language program
for more information
<<
Stay Tuned for our Next Issue:
Volume 3 Number 2 JuneAugust 2014 (Summer Issue)
*News Across Asia content
submission form
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Pharmacoeconomics and
Outcomes Research (ISPOR)
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The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) is a
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efficiency, effectiveness, and fairness of health care resource use to improve health.
Material published in the News Across Asia may not be reproduced, displayed, or distributed without the prior
written permission of ISPOR. For permission, contact asiaconsortium@ispor.org
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