Welcome to YHEC's November 2024 Newsletter
York Health Economics Consortium
Providing consultancy and research in health economics since 1986
Read on to find out about all the latest news at YHEC.
YHEC showcases innovative research at ISPOR EU
YHEC's Matthew Taylor, Stuart Mealing, Hayden Holmes, Lavinia Ferrante di Ruffano, Melissa Pegg and Neil Hansell will be attending ISPOR EU 2024 in Barcelona on 17-20 November.
Melissa will be delivering an oral presentation, “A Technical Validation of an Environmental Model of Aurora EV-ICD: Recommendations to Guide Environmental Criteria in Health Technology Assessment”. Neil will be presenting on “Recommended Standards for Managing and Reporting Missing Utility Data for Health Technology Appraisal”. YHEC will present 44 pieces of research in total, featuring 31 posters on a variety of topics including innovative methods, sensitivity analysis, patient outcomes research, using large language models in our research and more.
Visit YHEC at Booth 313 in the main exhibition hall and speak to our friendly colleagues to find out more about our research and services. If you would like to book a meeting with us ahead of time, please feel free to reach out to any of our?attendees?or get in touch.
Take a look at our bespoke ISPOR website to find out more about our presenters and all of the YHEC presentations.
R&D in mental health: a roadmap to the future
YHEC’s Associate Director, Hayden Holmes, was an expert panelist on a new comprehensive report by Technopolis Group, funded by the Wellcome charitable foundation, which explores the challenges in the mental health ecosystem.
The study offers a detailed mapping of the complex mental health R&D landscape, examining the diverse pathways that pharmaceuticals, medical devices and digital tools must traverse from concept to market. The report identifies key barriers, including high development costs, complex regulatory frameworks and challenging policy environments, as well as highlighting the value in including the perspectives of individuals with lived experience throughout the development process to ensure that the treatments are relevant and more likely to be adopted.
YHEC shares expertise on rare diseases
The small and diverse patient populations of rare diseases can introduce challenges for drug development and market access. The evidence in the field is often limited, so how can it be used to demonstrate the value of rare disease therapies? In October, YHEC’s Associate Director, Stuart Mealing, attended the World Orphan Drug Congress (WODC) Europe in Barcelona. He participated in a panel exploring “Optimising Value Demonstration & Evidence in Rare Disease” and shared insights on how access bodies consider value in rare disease therapies.
Stuart leads YHEC’s HEOR team and has extensive experience working in orphan/ultra-orphan conditions, including development and review of cost-effectiveness and budget impact models, as well as the use of a range of survival analysis techniques. To find out more about YHEC's work in rare diseases, contact us.
Collaborate to innovate over breakfast
YHEC is proud to be an event partner for the Yorkshire Health and Life Sciences Business Breakfast, taking place in Leeds on 20 November. The Business Breakfast will offer a platform for discussions aimed at fostering greater collaboration to accelerate the spread and adoption of health innovation.
Join YHEC Associate Director, Nick Hex (pictured), who will be participating in a panel session discussing practical steps for working with the NHS. We look forward to welcoming you to the session, and encourage you to connect with other members of our team who will be available for discussions throughout the event.
To find out more, visit the event website.
Healthcare evaluation and environmental sustainability
How can we account for environmental sustainability in the evaluation of medical devices and other technologies? YHEC’s Director, Professor Matthew Taylor, recently delivered a webinar to members of the Association of British HealthTech Industries (ABHI), outlining the challenges and opportunities associated with incorporating environmental sustainability outcomes into healthcare decision making.?
Matthew said: "As always, it was great to speak with so many enthusiastic people that want to understand the decision-making process and to promote change".
If you'd like to find out more about YHEC and our work on environmental sustainability, contact us.
YHEC staff provide opportunities for student success
As part of the University of York, staff at YHEC enjoy opportunities to contribute to students' learning and development. Last month, we said goodbye to MSc student Kapoona Eteng, as she completed her placement with us.?
She was supervised by YHEC Senior Research Consultant, Rachael MacDonald, who said: “It has been great working with Kapoona. YHEC has been involved in a number of projects evaluating the cost and resource use implications of virtual wards but the wider implications of virtual ward care have not yet been well considered. Kapoona chose to investigate the impact of virtual wards on health inequalities, specifically considering whether virtual wards are bridging the gap or widening the divide. This is an important topic to consider given the rapid spread and adoption of virtual ward care in England and Kapoona's research has been very insightful."
Thank you for all of your hard work, Kapoona!
Keep on running! YHEC staff take on the Yorkshire 10-mile
YHEC's Amy Dymond and Rachael MacDonald took part in the Yorkshire 10-mile run in October, raising money for YHEC’s 2024 nominated charity: the Children's Heart Unit Fund (CHUF). CHUF's vision is to support pioneering services that will positively impact heart families, inspire hope and enable Heart Heroes to reach their full potential. CHUF supports children and families who receive treatment at the Children’s Heart Unit based at the Freeman Hospital and the many other hospitals providing care for cardiac patients throughout the North of England.
You can make a donation to show your support. YHEC will match the first ￡5,000 raised, so your donation will really make a difference.
Our latest publications
European Journal of Environment and Public Health
YHEC's Melissa Pegg, Erin Barker and Matthew Taylor are the authors on a recent paper, "Eliciting trade-offs between population health and environmental outcomes: A pilot study", published in the European Journal of Environment and Public Health. The study used a discrete choice experiment (DCE) that focused on criteria impacting trade-off decisions between human health and environmental outcomes, with participants making twelve decisions based on four key attributes: UK life expectancy, biodiversity, carbon emissions and the location of environmental impacts. Results found that UK citizens are willing to give up some life expectancy in order to reduce environmental harm.
Journal of Neurological Sciences
YHEC's Mary Chappell, Alice Sanderson, Deborah Watkins, Mick Arber and Rachael McCool are co-authors of a recent publication, "Literature review and meta-analysis of natalizumab therapy for the treatment of highly active relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis in the ‘suboptimal therapy’ patient population", published in the Journal of Neurological Sciences.
Training Courses
YHEC's programme of training courses has finished for this year: thanks to everyone who has taken part, we've loved working with you! If you missed out this year and want to be the first to find out about next year's courses, keep an eye on future newsletters.
YHEC also runs a range of national and international bespoke courses which can be prepared according to your needs.? Please contact?YHEC?if you would like to request a quote for a specific course. Previous bespoke courses have included:
Careers at YHEC
YHEC was founded in 1986, and we now have a team of around 70 employees, working from our headquarters in York and remotely across the country.?
Keep an eye on our website or?subscribe to our mailing list?to find out about new vacancies.
Phone: +44 (0)1904 323620 ? Email: [email protected]
YHEC, Enterprise House, Innovation Way, University of York, York, YO10 5NQ, United Kingdom