New course on health economics & health technology assessment in China and the Asia Pacific

New health care interventions and technologies are constantly emerging but their effects on population health and health systems are not always clear. Described by the World Health Organization as a bridge that connects the world of research to that of policy making, health technology assessment (HTA) is the multidisciplinary and evidence-based evaluation of health technologies and interventions to determine their benefits and comparative advantages. HTA is critical for supporting policy decision making to improve the allocation of limited health care resources, mainly through the use of economic evaluation methodologies.

“Building China-Australia co-operation in Health Technology Assessment (COACH)” project, which receives funding from the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations of the Australian Government, is a collaborative network between the George Institute for Global Health, Fudan University and Peking University. This is a short course to equip academic researchers, healthcare policy makers, industry through comprehensive introduction to HTA.

Course schedule

Commencing from March 04 at 8:00AM GMT / 7:00PM AEST / 4:00PM CST and conducted via Zoom, the course requires an overall time commitment of approximately 18 hours (one session per week for 3 hours over 6 weeks), which does not include any pre- or post-session recommended reading time. Attendance at all the sessions is highly recommended.

Course dates
Saturday 4 March, 4-7pm Beijing time
Saturday 11 March, 4-7 pm Beijing time
Saturday 18 March, 4-7 pm Beijing time
Saturday 25 March, 4-7 pm Beijing time
Saturday 1 April, 4-7 pm Beijing time
Saturday 8 April, 4-7 pm Beijing time

Course outline

International experts from Australia, China, Singapore, Thailand, India, and Korea will explain the basic concepts and international experiences of HTA, covering the following areas:

Principles of health economics, economic evaluation and HTA
Examples of HTA experiences globally and in China and Australia
Data sources for HTA, including advantages and disadvantages of each source
HTA cost and outcome assessments
HTA cost-effectiveness thresholds
Decision analytical models for interpreting HTA metrics and findings
Challenges, limitations and future directions for HTA in China and globally

Course outcomes

After completing this course, participants will be able to understand the principles, methodologies, applications and challenges of carrying out HTA.

Other course outcomes include:

Understanding the role of HTA in policy making and health care funding in China and the Asia-Pacific
Understanding the key concepts and guidelines associated with undertaking a HTA study
Understanding how HTA findings are presented, communicated and interpreted
Describing the existing international experience of HTA on health care decision making, including developments in China and Asia
Capacity to identify the multiple data sources needed to support the framing of a HTA question
Apply principles of economic evaluation, cost and outcome assessments, cost-effectiveness thresholds in the conduct of HTA
Understand the role of decision analytical modelling, including understanding limitations and identifying other factors or criteria needed for HTA decision making
Identifying the main challenges in HTA, and exploring innovative future directions for HTA in China and globally

Course faculty

Professor Stephen Jan, The George Institute for Global Health, Australia
Professor Yingyao Chen, Fudan University, China
Professor Li Yang, Peking University, China
Associate Professor Lei Si, Western Sydney University, Australia
Associate Professor Thomas Lung, The University of Sydney, Australia
Dr Colman Taylor, The George Institute for Global Health, Australia
Dr Laura Downey, The George Institute for Global Health, Australia

Guest speakers

Professor Shankar Prinja, National Health Authority, Government of India, India
Dr Wanrudee Isaranuwatchai, Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program (HITAP), Ministry of Public Health, Thailand
Associate Professor Wee Hwee Lin, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Republic of Singapore
Professor Jeonghoon Ahn, Department of Health Convergence, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Professor Bin Wu, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
Associate Professor Tracey- Lea Laba, UniSA: Clinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia
Associate Professor Yawen Jiang, School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Sun Yat-sen University

Course language
Beginner / Introductory

Course language
English

Certificate of attendance
Participants attending at least 80% of sessions for at least 80% of the duration per session (as recorded by Zoom) will be provided with a certificate of attendance.

Cost

The cost of this course will be
Students/academics/government/not-for-profit - $180 AUD (RMB ￥800)
Industry - $530 AUD (RMB￥2500)

Once you have registered your attendance and paid in Humantix, you will be sent the Zoom link.

Scholarships

Scholarships of course fee waiver will be provided on a competitive basis. If you would like to be considered for a scholarship, please send through

1. the confirmation of registration
2. your up-to-date CV

to the following email researchtraining@georgeinstitute.org by the 22nd of Feb. We will notify the successful applicants by the 1st of March.

For more information or examples of health economics carried out at The George Institute, visit our ongoing project pages here or read about our impact here.

To learn more about the COACH program click here