Strategic Resource Allocation: Health Economics and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Training Course

Introduction

In an era of finite resources and ever-increasing demand for healthcare services, decision-makers face the critical challenge of allocating budgets in a way that maximizes health outcomes. Health economics provides the robust analytical framework to address this challenge, offering tools to understand healthcare markets, evaluate the efficiency of interventions, and set priorities. Central to this discipline is Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA), a powerful methodology for comparing the costs and health benefits of different medical interventions, programs, and policies to ensure value for money.

This intensive training course is meticulously designed to equip participants with a comprehensive and practical understanding of health economics and the intricate methodologies of Cost-Effectiveness Analysis. From dissecting the core principles of economic evaluation and measuring various types of costs and outcomes to mastering the techniques for decision modeling, sensitivity analysis, and interpreting cost-effectiveness ratios, you will gain the expertise to conduct and critically appraise economic evaluations. This empowers you to contribute to evidence-based healthcare policy, optimize resource allocation, and enhance the efficiency and equity of health systems.

Target Audience

  • Health policymakers and planners in government and public health agencies.
  • Healthcare managers and administrators.
  • Public health specialists and researchers.
  • Pharmacoeconomists and health outcomes researchers in pharmaceutical and medical device industries.
  • Clinicians and medical professionals interested in evidence-based decision-making.
  • Economists and data analysts working in the health sector.
  • Academics and graduate students (Master's and PhD) in health economics, public health, or health policy.
  • Professionals involved in health technology assessment (HTA) bodies.

Duration: 10 days

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this training course, participants will be able to:

  • Understand the fundamental principles of health economics, including scarcity, efficiency, and equity in healthcare.
  • Grasp the different types of economic evaluations (CMA, CEA, CUA, CBA) and their appropriate applications.
  • Analyze methods for identifying, measuring, and valuing costs in healthcare interventions.
  • Comprehend techniques for measuring and valuing health outcomes, including Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs).
  • Evaluate the process of conducting a Cost-Effectiveness Analysis, from defining the scope to interpreting results.
  • Develop practical skills in building simple decision analytical models for economic evaluation.
  • Navigate the complexities of uncertainty in economic evaluations through sensitivity analysis.
  • Formulate evidence-based recommendations for resource allocation and health policy decisions based on cost-effectiveness evidence.

Course Content

  1. Introduction to Health Economics
  • Defining health economics: scope, key questions, and unique features of healthcare markets
  • Scarcity, choice, and opportunity cost in healthcare
  • Efficiency in healthcare: allocative, technical, and productive efficiency
  • Equity and fairness in health and healthcare
  • Demand for health and healthcare: consumer behavior and determinants of health
  1. Economic Evaluation in Healthcare: Overview
  • Why conduct economic evaluations? Resource constraints and priority setting
  • Types of economic evaluation:
    • Cost-Minimization Analysis (CMA)
    • Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA)
    • Cost-Utility Analysis (CUA)
    • Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA)
  • Perspectives in economic evaluation (societal, healthcare system, patient)
  • Decision-making frameworks in healthcare (e.g., NICE, WHO-CHOICE)
  1. Measuring and Valuing Costs
  • Identifying relevant costs: direct medical, direct non-medical, indirect costs
  • Sources of cost data: administrative databases, patient-level data, trial data
  • Measurement of resource use: counting units, assigning prices
  • Discounting costs: rationale and methodology for future costs
  • Handling uncertainty in cost data: statistical methods, sensitivity analysis
  1. Measuring and Valuing Health Outcomes
  • Clinical outcomes vs. broader health outcomes
  • Intermediate vs. final health outcomes
  • Generic vs. disease-specific outcome measures
  • Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) measures: concepts and instruments (e.g., EQ-5D, SF-36)
  • Utility measurement: standard gamble, time trade-off, visual analogue scales
  • Calculating Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) and Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs)
  1. Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA): Methodology
  • Steps in conducting a CEA:
    • Defining the research question and intervention
    • Identifying comparators
    • Specifying the analytic perspective
    • Identifying and measuring costs and outcomes
  • Calculating Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratios (ICERs)
  • Presenting CEA results: cost-effectiveness plane, league tables
  • Interpreting ICERs and decision rules
  1. Decision Modeling for Economic Evaluation
  • Introduction to decision trees: structure, probabilities, payoffs
  • Markov models: states, transitions, cycles for chronic conditions
  • Constructing and populating decision models with data
  • Software tools for decision modeling (e.g., TreeAge Pro, R, Excel)
  • Model validation and verification
  1. Handling Uncertainty in Economic Evaluation: Sensitivity Analysis
  • Importance of addressing uncertainty: parameter uncertainty, structural uncertainty
  • One-way sensitivity analysis: varying individual parameters
  • Multi-way sensitivity analysis: varying multiple parameters simultaneously
  • Probabilistic Sensitivity Analysis (PSA): Monte Carlo simulation
  • Cost-effectiveness acceptability curves (CEACs) and their interpretation
  • Value of Information Analysis (VOI) (conceptual introduction)
  1. Advanced Topics in Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
  • Discounting health outcomes
  • Equity considerations in CEA: distributional cost-effectiveness analysis
  • Budget Impact Analysis (BIA): linking CEA to budget implications
  • Programmatic and population-level CEAs
  • Cost-benefit analysis revisited: valuing outcomes in monetary terms
  1. Real-World Applications and Case Studies
  • Review of published CEAs in various health areas (e.g., pharmaceuticals, public health interventions, surgical procedures)
  • Critical appraisal of economic evaluation studies: assessing quality and transferability of results
  • Policy applications of CEA: informing reimbursement decisions, health technology assessment (HTA)
  • Challenges of applying CEA in different healthcare systems and contexts
  • Ethical considerations in using economic evaluations for rationing
  1. Implementation, Reporting, and Future Directions
  • Guidelines for reporting economic evaluations (e.g., CHEERS checklist)
  • Communicating CEA results to diverse audiences (policymakers, clinicians, patients)
  • Role of economic evaluation in health system strengthening
  • Emerging trends: personalized medicine, digital health, and their economic implications
  • The future of health economics and economic evaluation in a changing global health landscape.

CERTIFICATION

  • Upon successful completion of this training, participants will be issued with Macskills Training and Development Institute Certificate

TRAINING VENUE

  • Training will be held at Macskills Training Centre. We also tailor make the training upon request at different locations across the world.

AIRPORT PICK UP AND ACCOMMODATION

  • Airport pick up and accommodation is arranged upon request

TERMS OF PAYMENT

Payment should be made to Macskills Development Institute bank account before the start of the training and receipts sent to info@macskillsdevelopment.com

For More Details call: +254-114-087-180

 

 

Strategic Resource Allocation: Health Economics And Cost-effectiveness Analysis Training Course in Kenya
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