Pre-Conference Workshop: Why, when, what and how to collect economic evidence 

There is a growing need among decision-makers to understand the economic and financial value of interventions, as well as the clinical efficacy and effectiveness of such interventions.

This ‘value’, and the relationship between costs and benefits requires the consideration of the patient’s journey undergoing a new intervention and comparing this journey with what is current standard practice. Capturing this value is a complex and multifaceted approach that requires assessing not only the direct benefit of the intervention, as ascertained by the efficacy of the intervention, but also additional benefits such as the quality of life of the patient, the healthcare activity that the disease or its treatment generates, costs incurred and any additional ‘downstream’ events that may occur.

To best answer these ‘value’ questions, it may be necessary and /or beneficial to collect the necessary economic evidence concurrently within a clinical trial.

The workshop is designed to give the participant an insight into the world of health economics, and an understanding of where health economics fits with designing clinical trials. It will introduce the participant to:

•  when, why and when not to include an economic evaluation alongside an RCT
•  economic study designs and sample size considerations
•  how to collect data on resource use, costs and health outcomes
•  how to budget for an economic evaluation
•  collecting data across multiple countries and sites
•  data collection for longer-term modelling of costs and benefits
•  where to turn for assistance with trial-based economic evaluations

This workshop will be led by Associate Professor Rachael Morton, Director of Health Economics at the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre and President of the Health Services Research Association of Australia and New Zealand, and health economists Blaise Agresta and Dr Mbathio Dieng.

Designed for clinician-investigators designing trials to change clinical practice and policy. No prior economics knowledge required.

Learning objectives include:

•  an understanding of the role of economic evaluation in decision making for reimbursement and policy change
•  knowledge of different economic study designs and the pros and cons of these study designs alongside trials
•  knowledge of how to collect data within a trial and the different methodologies used to collect data
•  selection of preference-based quality of life instruments
•  understanding of the Health Economics Analysis Plan (HEAP)

Find out more about the pre-conference workshops on the ACTA International Clinical Trials Conference website.