Advance HTA
The consortium – led by LSE Health and comprising 11 institutional partners - combines geographical and disciplinary diversity with academic rigor and policy relevance emphasized by the members’ experience in linking research to policy.
It aims to contribute to advances in the methods and practices for HTA in European and other settings by involving the wider stakeholder community in areas actively and heavily debated given their implications for decision-making and resource allocation. More specifically, ADVANCE‐HTA aims to make a number of contributions in six distinct areas. These include (1) finding alternative means of assessing value for money, (2) proposing new methods for value assessment which include factors beyond cost-effectiveness,(3) developing new methods for the assessment of rare diseases and orphan drugs, (4) improving the robustness of preference elicitation methods by incorporating patient-relevant values into widely used instruments to measure quality of life, (5) consolidating the current methods for assessing HTA in medical devices in different settings and (6) improving the implementation and capacity building of HTA.
Overall, ADVANCE-HTA aims to broaden the spectrum, complement and address areas of intense methodological debate in the application, use and implementation of HTA. It also aims to improve HTA methods, which can be taken further by competent authorities nationally whilst supplementing the work of supra-nationalbodies (e.g.EUnetHTA) towards a common understanding of choices in health care decision‐making.
Press release:
LSE leads consortium to advance and strengthen the methodological tools and practices relating to the application and implementation of Health Technology Assessment (HTA)
Website: Advance HTA: Rethinking the future of health technology assessment
For further information please contact: Hala Hourani (h.hourani@lse.ac.uk), Elena Nicod (e.m.nicod@lse.ac.uk), Aris Angelis (a.n.angelis@lse.ac.uk),Panos Kanavos (p.g.kanavos@lse.ac.uk)
Network on Rare Diseases (BURQOL-RD)
Social economic burden and health-related quality of life in Patients with Rare Diseases in Europe (BURQOL)
BURQOL is a 3-year project that began in March 2010 funded by the 2nd Programme of Community Action in the Field of Public Health, promoted by DG Sanco. It is coordinated by the Canary Foundation of Investigation and Health, and includes 21 associated and collaborating partners including LSE Health (MTRG). The primary objective of BURQOL is to generate a methodological framework to quantify the socio-economic burden and impact on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of both patients and carers, for ten rare diseases in eight different European countries.
Planned outcomes include an integrated and harmonised set of instruments to assess and monitor socio-economic burden and HRQOL of patient affected by rare diseases and their caregivers, and a detailed analysis of the services (health and social care) received by people with specific rare diseases in different EU countries, including the identification of formal and informal care. The results and deliverables that emerge from this project will stimulate the future comparability and monitoring of rare diseases in Europe as well as anticipate future information needs, which will also be relevant to include into the EPIRARE EU platform for rare disease registries.
MTRG was responsible for producing an internal report with a dual objective: first, outlining the methodological framework in which the socio-economic burden of rare diseases can be identified and measured from a health economic point of view; and second, reviewing the relevant literature on the socioeconomic burden of the ten selected rare diseases and identifying all costs, both direct and indirect, for patients, families and society.
Other responsibilities include contribution to successful patient recruitment in the UK.
Website: BURQOL-RD
Publications:
Tordrup, David, Tzouma, Victoria and Kanavos, Panos (2014) Orphan drug considerations in Health Technology Assessment in eight European countries. Rare Diseases and Orphan Drugs: An International Journal of Public Health, 1 (3, 86-97.
BURQOL-RD Research Group (2012), Delphi approach to select rare diseases for a European representative survey. The BURQOL-RD study, Health Policy, 108:1, 19-26
For further information please contact: Aris Angelis (a.n.angelis@lse.ac.uk), Elena Nicod (e.m.nicod@lse.ac.uk), Panos Kanavos (p.g.kanavos@lse.ac.uk)
Mapping NCDs
This project maps European countries’ Non Communicable Disease research activities, investment and initiatives, quantifying their impact in five key disease areas: cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, cancer and mental health. As a package, MAPPING_NCD comprises a detailed qualitative survey of each of the five identified disease areas, a bibliometric analysis and an impact assessment. Accurate mapping of NCD research can assist governments in understanding the most fruitful approaches to investing in an area which has direct economic consequences as well as social benefits. In addition, collaboration between public and private entities may further spread benefits and ensure greater likelihood of success. A broader perspective on currently existing national and European approaches to NCD funding might also be of great benefit to European countries in fine tuning their national strategies towards the development of more innovative solutions to the growing problem of NCDs. At EU level, NCD funding strategies are characterized by strong visions and policies. But, there is also a need for new incentives in NCD R&D funding for the purpose of encouraging innovation and research that leads to better understandings of disease areas and also to new prevention strategies and improved treatments. The project involves a central LSE team working in collaboration with partners across the European Union: Technische Universität Berlin, Escuela Andaluza de Salud Publica Granada, Université Paris Est Creteil, King’s College London, Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi and the Estonian Research Council.
For further information please contact: Hala Hourani (h.hourani@lse.ac.uk), John Wright (j.s.wright@lse.ac.uk), Panos Kanavos (p.g.kanavos@lse.ac.uk)
Website: Mapping NCD