Associate Professor from TNMU Participated in the Seminar “Economic Evaluation in Healthcare”
Associate Professor Nataliia Haliyash from the Department of Pediatrics No. 2 of Ternopil National Medical University attended the “Economic Evaluation in Healthcare” seminar organized by the Open Medical Institute (OMI) in Salzburg, Austria, from November 23 to 30, 2024.
OMI is an educational initiative aimed at improving global healthcare delivery. The seminar emphasized the importance of economic evaluation in healthcare as a critical tool for justifying decisions in healthcare, particularly in assessing the effectiveness and financial feasibility of medical interventions and resources. These evaluations allow healthcare professionals to optimize costs and enhance service efficiency.
Key Topics and Highlights:
Economic Evaluation Techniques. Participants learned methodologies for assessing medical services and equipment costs and cost-effectiveness. Tools for demonstrating evidence-based results to decision-makers were explored to promote equitable resource allocation.
Seminar Insights
Professor Sylvia Evers of Public Health Technology Assessment at Maastricht University and scientific director of the Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI) highlighted the importance of selecting appropriate economic research designs (e.g., clinical trials or economic modeling) based on research goals. She introduced protocols like CHEC for study planning and discussed key metrics like ICER (Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio), ICUR (Incremental Cost-Utility Ratio), and NMB (Net Monetary Benefit).
Professor Bosiljka Djikanovic (University of Belgrade) taught participants to calculate QALY (Quality-Adjusted Life Year) and use tools like EQ-5D for assessing health-related quality of life.
Rositsa Koleva-Kolarova (Health Economics Research Centre, Nuffield Department of Population Health, Oxford University) demonstrated decision tree and Markov models for simulating interactions of health states and their monetary outcomes.
Professor Ceu Mateus (Professor of Health Economics in the Division of Health Research at Lancaster University) addressed global challenges in ensuring equity, accessibility, and fairness in healthcare funding distribution.
Workshops and Masterclasses. Participants engaged in workshops focusing on uncertainty analysis, generalizability of results, and preparing research for publication using the CHEERS 2022 protocol.
Applications of Acquired Knowledge:
Nataliia Haliyash plans to:
- Develop new educational materials to deepen students’ and colleagues’ understanding of health economics.
- Enhance teaching quality by integrating these concepts into academic programs, fostering critical thinking among medical students.
- Organize training sessions for TNMU faculty on health economics evaluation.
- Publish research to strengthen the department’s scientific standing and reputation.
The seminar also provided opportunities to establish professional contacts, paving the way for future collaborations and joint research projects.
This participation underscores TNMU’s commitment to fostering academic growth and integrating innovative approaches into medical education and research.