18th International EBHC Symposium 2023
Integrating evidence for enhanced outcomes
9-10 października 2023 | stacjonarnie + ONLINE
Ever since the era of health technologies began, the process of generating scientific evidence has been dispersed, lengthy and divided into stages implemented independently by numerous teams. Initially, research design was too focused on optimising the scope of the collected data, as excessive data volumes could exceed a facility's capacities and its budget. It was necessary for researchers to consider costs (e.g., of analysts’ work), time (required calculations), technical limitations (database capacity) and silo mentality regarding research processes.
Integration no. 1 – uniform questionnaire formats
During the individual stages of the research process, data were formatted and processed to meet the requirements of various methods of analysis and inference. Significant technical, financial, and human resources were engaged in collecting, reproducing, sending, and storing paper and later electronic research documentation. Data gathered with such effort were (and still are) closely guarded by various institutions. Creating and protecting sensitive data is important not only from the perspective of the average patient, but also due to the matter of intellectual property. In the meantime...
Integration no. 2 – scale, assessment, credibility...
Conducting isolated studies, even those large-scale ones, is impractical in the long run, as it does not allow for reaching synergy by combining results from numerous examined populations. Secondary research offered the opportunity to create more accurate conclusions, but it required a standardisation of analytical processes including methods of data synthesis for scientific goals, creating new technologies, as well as analysing healthcare systems.
Integration no. 2.5 – reimbursement!
Another revolution was brought about by applying scientific evidence to assessments of the validity of reimbursing health technologies. The progress of medicine, supported by the pharmaceutical industry (and its primary and secondary research) and, to varying degrees, by the public sector resulted in an enormous growth of knowledge resources, as well as difficulties in implementing them in health care and improving the quality of patient care. The subjective needs of patients were quantified in health technology assessment or quality assessment processes more and more often; however, the adopted tools would not provide an answer to the questions regarding satisfying the needs of people covered by healthcare. top
Integration no. 3 – human factor
New concepts emerged as a counterweight for these imperfections; they were supposed to complete and support HTA-based decision-making and health care management. They include, among others, Value-Based Health Care (VBHC), which focuses on patients’ needs, and Real-World Evidence (RWE). The need to include patients, who are the broadest group of stakeholders begins to take shape in provisions and regulations concerning patients’ participation in the decision-making processes (e.g., NICE's Public Involvement programme). RWE proposes using mass real-world data already at the lowest decision-making processes (e.g., by physicians), bypassing the time-consuming processing and formal reports drawn up by institutions. The COVID-19 pandemic and development of digitalisation accelerated the use of RWE. At the same time, it was the catalyst which boosted the process of creating RWE. Doctors fighting with the pandemic were updating the entire world on an ongoing basis about the results of their activities. That was the first mass use of RWE – without a formal system and with the use of improvised measures (social media, phones, emails).
As technology progresses, especially the ubiquity of digitalisation and a huge increase of database possibilities, it is easier for the contemporary researchers to process data. They do not need to be afraid of the abundance of data. Gathering different types of data resembles playing with blocks which have different types of connection combinations. The more connections our blocks have, the larger the possibility of attaching them to the “structures” (research) of other researchers. However, as the blocks get larger, we need increasingly bigger boxes to store them (databases). In return, we get the possibility to integrate scientific evidence acquired from completely different sources, environments, and research techniques. Creating new connections become the subject of international regulations e.g., of the European Health Data Space (EHDS). top
Integration no. 4 – just new toys or already a matrix?
Integrating scientific evidence at the HTA level becomes increasingly popular and is often initiated at very early stages of creating health technologies. An approach combining randomised controlled trials (RCT) and real-world evidence can serve as a strategic path for growth for all stakeholders of the healthcare system. These new possibilities will also bring about new challenges, not only in the context of medical advances, but also in the evolution of healthcare systems.
The sudden growth of the amount of collected data might give raise to concerns whether their reasonable analysis is possible, but in fact the answer might lie in the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI). Perhaps AI will soon allow us to determine the key models for analysing data and assessing efficacy, e.g., without the need to conduct randomised controlled trials (RCT). It will surely help choose patients for such trials more accurately. Thanks to the RWE analysis with the AI support, it might be possible to create a digital model of the healthcare system that will facilitate following diagnostic paths, monitoring areas that require interventions, identifying, and breaking though diagnostic barriers. Such a model could also adjust the manufacture levels to the system's current needs or recommend the optimal number of places at medical universities based on the trend analysis.
Digitalisation creates such huge opportunities that finding and implementing reasonable ideas to their full potential will still need to take some time. However, new dilemmas are already emerging, such as issues regarding privacy and safety of citizens’ data and the necessity to create solutions that do not generate further inequalities in healthcare.
I o tym wszystkim dyskutowaliśmy na 18. Międzynarodowym Sympozjum EBHC. top
Partners
18th International EBHC Symposium 2023
Integrating evidence for enhanced outcomes
October 9-10, 2023 | hybrid format


18th International EBHC Symposium 2023
Integrating evidence for enhanced outcomes
October 9-10, 2023 | hybrid format

Magdalena Ankiersztejn-Bartczak | Poland

Ewa Bandurska | Poland
Doctor of health sciences with a master’s degree in public health and economics. She is an author of numerous publications on cost effectiveness analysis, integrated care and quality of life. She has many years of teaching experience and she is the author of a unique model for educating students of Public Health in the field of pharmacoeconomics. Ewa Bandurska is the head of the Public Health – management in the health system faculty (first-cycle studies). Moreover, she is a member of the Polish Pharmacoeconomics Society (currently a member of the audit committee), the Polish Society for Health Programs, the Polish Society of Social Medicine and Public Health. She also holds the position of the supervisor of the Management and Economics in Health Care scientific club at the Medical University of Gdańsk and co-supervisor of the ISPOR Student Chapter Poland – a nationwide scientific club for pharmacoeconomics students. Furthermore, Ewa Bandurska cooperates with, among others, the National Institute of Public Health – National Institute of Hygiene, the Medicover Foundation, the World Bank and other entities. top
Lecture topic: Role of patient-reported outcomes in assessing the effectiveness of care on the example of integrated care

Michał Byliniak | Poland
Michał Byliniak has been associated with the pharmaceutical market for over 15 years, acquiring extensive managerial experience in the field of distribution, reimbursement, clinical trials and registration of medicinal products. Michał Byliniak was a long-term president of the Regional Pharmaceutical Council in Warsaw, as well as the president of the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union. Director General of the Employer’s Union of Innovative Pharmaceutical Companies INFARMA since 2022. He has experience in working in the Polish health care system, in various organisations, such as pharmacies, domestic wholesalers, pharmaceutical companies and consulting companies. He is the author of numerous studies related to the pharmaceutical sector. top

Michał Chodorek | Poland
Lecture topic: EU Health Data Space – secondary use of data from the patients' perspective

Grażyna Cieślak | Poland
Lecture topic: Implementation and results of the prediabetes project – the patient’s perspective. How can this success be replicated?

Justin Clark | Australia
Lecture topic: Efficent HTA literature searching

Karen Facey | UK
Karen Facey worked as a statistician in pharma and medicines regulation, before becoming CEO of the first national HTA Agency in Scotland. For the past 20 years, she has worked as an international consultant in HTA, with special interests in use of real world data, evaluation of rare disease treatments and patient involvement. She is senior advisor for HTA at FIPRA, providing secretariat to the payer-led learning network, RWE4Decisions. top

Clifford Goodman | USA

Tomasz Hryniewiecki | Poland
Tomasz Hryniewiecki is cardiologist and specialist in internal medicine. He holds the position of Representative to the Minister of Health for the National Cardiovascular Disease Programme 2022-2032. National consultant for cardiology. Professor Hryniewiecki is professionally and academically associated with the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński Institute of Cardiology – National Research Institute, where he has been head of the Heart Valve Defects Clinic for 12 years. He was Director of the Institute from 2015 to 2022, which he transformed into a National Research Institute with the highest scientific category A+ and initiated its major modernisation. In 2020, Professor Hryniewiecki started to prepare the National Cardiovascular Disease Programme for 2022-2032. At the same time, he has started work on a programme of comprehensive and coordinated cardiac care, the “National Cardiac Network”, which is designed to facilitate the patient’s journey from primary care to diagnosis and modern treatment in appropriate specialist healthcare facilities. He is the author of numerous scientific papers, textbooks, and the editor-in-chief of journals, as well as scientific director of congresses. He is a fellow of the Polish and European Society of Cardiology. top

Inna Ivanenko | Ukraine
Executive Director of the Charitable Foundation “Patients of Ukraine”.
Inna has graduated from School of Social Work of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy National University in 2007 and since then her career is developing in social and humanitarian spheres. From 2007 till 2012 Inna was working in the Policy and Advocacy Department of All-Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV, combating for ARV-treatment availability for those who needed it. In 2012 Mrs Ivanenko became one of the founders of patients based organization CF “Patients of Ukraine” and in 2018 was elected as its Executive director. CF “Patients of Ukraine” is a unique organization, uniting 50 members, who are leaders of patients organizations from 23 disease areas. Organization is a strong advocate for treatment access, anti-corruption medical procurement reform and overall healthcare reform in Ukraine, representing interests of more than 1,5 million patients with severe diseases. During full-scale war in Ukraine CF “Patients of Ukraine” is among leaders who helps to overcome Ukrainian patients and healthcare system the consequences of russian invasion. top
Lecture topic: Health care in Poland from the perspective of Ukrainian refugees

Tadeusz Jędrzejczyk | Poland

Roman Kolek | Poland

Ewa Lech-Marańda | Poland
National Consultant in the field of haematology. Vice-president of the Polish Adult Leukaemia Group. Member of the Polish Lymphoma Research Group.
Professor Ewa Lech-Marańda specialises in internal diseases, haematology, clinical transplantology and clinical immunology. She is the author of over 130 original works, review works and textbook chapters. In the years 1995-2010 she was an assistant and adjunct at the Department of Haematology of the Medical University of Łódź. In 2010, she started working at the Institute of Haematology and Transfusion Medicine in Warsaw as the deputy head of the Haematology Clinic. In the years 2015-2017, she served as the deputy Director for Therapeutics at the Institute, and in 2017 she was appointed by the Minister of Health as the Director of the Institute of Haematology and Transfusion Medicine. Since 2013, she has also been the head of the Haematology and Transfusion Medicine Clinic at the Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education in Warsaw and the voivodeship consultant in the field of haematology for the Masovian Voivodeship; what is more, since 2018, she has been working as the national consultant in the field of haematology. top
Lecture topic: Improving hematology patient care - hematology network in Poland

Maria Libura | Poland

Maciej Miłkowski* | Poland
Manager, graduated from the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH), as well as from the MBA studies at the Leon Kozminski Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management in Warsaw – Management and Economics of Medical Technologies. His first professional experience was in investment banking at Polski Bank Inwestycyjny (Polish Investment Bank). Since the beginning, i.e. since April 1998, Maciej Miłkowski was co-organising Mazowiecka Regionalna Kasa Chorych (the Mazovian Regional Health Care Fund) and became its first member of the management board for economic and administrative affairs, as well as its CFO. For 3 years, starting from 2002, he was head of a non-public health care institution of the European Rehabilitation Clinic VICTORIA. In the years 2005-2007 he worked in the Institute of Mother and Child as the representative of the director for financial and accounting affairs and as the deputy director for economic affairs. Between June 2007 and January 2016 Maciej Miłkowski worked as the deputy director for economic affairs of the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński Institute of Cardiology in Warsaw. In 15 January 2016 he was appointed the Deputy President of the National Health Fund for Financial Affairs. He has been the Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Health since 2018. top

Magdalena Ruth Moshi | Australia

Marta Musidłowska | Poland
Graduate of the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw, specializing in digital policies within European Union law. Analyst of Polish, EU and US regulations related to new technologies, primarily data governance in various sectors (mainly healthcare). She has gained practical experience in Polish and international law firms, as well as in policymaking in the United Nations and Polish public administration initiatives. At the end of July, she finished traineeship at DG SANTE in the European Commission, where she supported work on the European Health Data Space. Currently she is a legal researcher in the Center of IT and IP Law in the KU Leuven, where she works on a Data Spaces Support Centre project. She is also a journalist writing texts on new technologies, as well as digital & energy policy in the CEE region. top

Daniel Ollendorf | USA

Wija Oortwijn | The Netherlands
Wija Oortwijn is senior researcher/lecturer at the Department Health Evidence at Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen (the Netherlands). She studied health sciences and holds a PhD in Medicine (Setting priorities in health technology assessment). She has over 30 years of professional experience in HTA and health policy analysis around the globe, with her key interest in priority setting, integrated HTA, and capacity building.
Since 1992, she has been extensively involved in the development of HTA and health system strengthening around the world. This includes numerous projects, consultations and capacity building in most countries of the European Union as well as in Abu Dhabi, Brazil, Canada, China, Kazakhstan, Moldova, South Africa, Ukraine, and several others.
She has co-authored 10 book chapters concerning different aspects of HTA, edited several journal issues, and has written more than 70 other scholarly published papers. She is the lead editor of the VALIDATE handbook: an approach on the integration of values in doing assessments of health technologies, 2022; available from: https://validatehta.eu/. She is also the lead author of guidance for institutionalizing HTA via the use of evidence-informed deliberative processes, 2021; available from: https://www.radboudumc.nl/global-health-priorities. This guidance is applied in several countries around the globe, including Abu Dhabi, Ghana, Iran, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Moldova, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Ukraine.
She is a founding member of the Dutch Society for HTA (NVTAG) and the international HTA Society (HTAi). She has been the co-chair of the HTAi/INAHTA Interest Group on Ethics from 2011 to 2017, and served as the scientific secretary of HTAi's Global Policy Forum from 2016-2019.
Currently, she is Board member of HTAi in the capacity of Past President, is the co-chair the HTAi-DIA working group on uncertainty in the HTA-regulatory interface, and is associate editor of the International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care. She is also Advisory Board Member of the Slovak HTA agency (NIHO) and of the HTAi-ISPOR-HTAsiaLink working group on HTA guidelines. top

Mark Parker | Serbia

Bonny Parkinson | Australia

Marcin Pasiarski | Poland
Specialist in internal medicine, haematology and immunology. Professor and lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Science of Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce. Since 2015, he has held the position of the Voivodship Consultant in Haematology. He graduated from the Medical University of Lublin (where he also obtained his doctorate in medical sciences in 2009). Since 2001, he has been working at the Holy Cross Cancer Centre in Kielce. Since 2011, he has been in charge of the haematology unit and, since 2014, of the Department of Haematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation at the Holy Cross Cancer Centre.
Scientific research on the assessment of the effectiveness of vaccination against Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumonia ducta) in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance has been carried out under the supervision of Professor Pasiarski. Based on his research, he developed the first pneumococcal vaccination programme in Poland and Europe for oncological patients, offering them protection against pneumococcal pneumonia and sepsis. top

Serhii Pekh | Ukraine
Serhii Pekh is a unique influencer whose activities on social media have meaningful impact on society. His main goal is to make the rules of legal residence in Poland and procedures for entering Poland more commonly known, not only for Ukrainian citizens, but also for other nationalities. As a community activist, Serhii is a co-founder of Wellcome EU foundation, which aims to help refugees from various countries in difficult times. Serhii Pekh is not only an influencer, but also a philanthropist. His involvement in helping refugees of various nationalities shows that he always puts humanitarian matters first. Moreover, as an investor, he’s aware of the role that business can play in creating positive social changes. His versatility and psychological knowledge help him understand how social media works and what is the best way of conveying his social messages. Serhii Pekh is an individual who inspires and motivates others to work for the common good and understands the needs of refugees and migrants in Poland, regardless of their country of origin. top

Barbara Pepke | Poland
President of Gwiazda Nadziei Foundation. Leader of the Hepatology Coalition. She is a campaigner for patients suffering from liver diseases. Barbara is a former hepatitis C patient herself. What is more, she has co-founded the Gwiazda Nadziei Foundation and has been its President for over 15 years.
When it comes to her professional life, Barbara has been associated with the local government for over 25 years, and currently with the voivodship government. She is a Councilwoman of the Mikołajów County for the 5th Term, and currently the Chairwoman of the Mikołajów County for the 6th Term. She has initiated numerous social campaigns, trainings and educational programmes in the field of liver disease and cancer prevention. Moreover, she co-created numerous educational campaigns directed at young people, teachers, residents, physicians and, lately, also Ukrainian refugees. Barbara is the originator, co-author and coordinator of the publications published by the Gwiazda Nadziei Foundation, used in campaigns promoting free tests and educating GPs and teachers on the current knowledge about hepatotropic virus infections.
She strongly believes that health and human life are of paramount value. top

Maria Piętak-Frączek | Poland

Robert Plisko | Poland
Robert Plisko is CEO at HTA Consulting since 2006 and one of the company’s founders. He obtained his Master of Economics title at the Cracow University of Economics. His professional career started at the National Centre for Quality Assessment in Healthcare. Robert Plisko is the author of numerous publications on HTA and health care. He is head of the Economic Analyses Department at HTA Consulting. top

Tomasz Jan Prycel | Poland

Michael Schlander | Germany
Michael Schlander is Professor of Health Economics (at AWI – Alfred Weber Institute for Economics and at the Mannheim Medical Faculty) of the University of Heidelberg, currently on leave of absence to act as foundation Head of the Division of Health Economics for the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany (since 2017). He has been founding chairman of the not-for-profit “Institute for Innovation & Valuation in Health Care” (InnoValHC e.V.) in Wiesbaden, Germany (since 2005), and has acted a scientific advisor of its consulting and management branch, Inno-Val-HC-Forschungsgesellschaft mbH (InnoValHC Research Inc., also since 2005). He is a member of numerous scientific associations, including the Drug Information Association (DIA), the International Health Economics Association (iHEA), and the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR); in 2008, he was a co-founder of the German Society for Health Economics (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie, DGGÖ). He further acted as the scientific program chair for the 15th Annual European Congress of ISPOR in 2012, with more than 3,500 attendants. After six years in experimental brain research and clinical neurology (at the Universities of Frankfurt a.M. and Mainz), he joined the international biopharmaceutical industry in 1987, where he spent 15 years in executive roles in clinical development (1987-1993), marketing (1993-1999), and general management (1999-2002) in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States. His scientific publications include two monographs, on ‘The Contribution of Health Economics to Market-Oriented Pharmaceutical Research and Development’ (Witten/Herdecke University Press; Witten, Germany: 1998) and on ‘Health Technology Assessments by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)’ in England and Wales (Springer; New York, NY: 2007). top

Michał Seweryn | Poland
Lecture topic: Ścieżki finansowania szczepień dla dorosłych – na przykładzie półpaśca (wykład edukacyjny firmy GSK)

Jacek Siwiec | Poland
Sociologist – HTA expert – with more than 20 years of professional experience in public and private institutions related to health technology assessment (HTA/EBM), total quality management (TQM), clinical indicators, quality of life assessment, health insurance, and clinical research. He has held management positions in the CEESTAHC Association, WHC and Medicea Foundations, clinical research centres and numerous companies involved in broadly defined quality, ancillary insurance, and HTA. He currently holds the position of Director at the AOTMiT’s Branch Office in Cracow. He was the initiator and organiser of the International EBHC Symposium (2004-11) of the CEESTAHC Association, and of the conference series entitled “Innovations in Medicine” of the WHC Foundation. Jacek Siwiec is a manager, organiser, coach in trainings and several hundred training programmes in the field of EBM/EBHC/HTA/GCP, and an academic lecturer – at i.a. postgraduate studies in HTA at Institute of Public Health at Jagiellonian University Medical College (PRO-QUO HEALTH, HB-HTA). He has held advisory roles as, i.a., a member of the Ministry of Health’s Team for the Translation of Maps of Healthcare Needs, expert of the AOTMiT’s Tariffs Council, HTA coordinator of the Pointer project. Additionally, he is a member of teams and co-author of the Minister of Health’s “IOWISZ” tool. Jacek Siwiec is the co-author of HTA studies and expert consultations for Ministries of Health of the following Serbia (on behalf of the World Bank) and Ukraine. He has cooperated with various international institutions such as WHO (HEN), EUnetHTA, HTAi, World Bank and DG SANCO – member of the Expert Group on Health Systems Performance Assessment (HSPA), as well as Polish and foreign universities. Currently, he participates in several task forces and consulting teams, such as Voivodship Health Needs Mapping Teams, or in the work of the President of the Republic of Poland’s Working Group on 75 + Centres, as well as in the work of the Steering Committee for the Coordination of EFSI Interventions in the Health Sector. He has been an expert member, Polish representative for HTA methodology to the EU team – Coordination Group on Health Technology Assessment (CG-HTA), dealing with the commonality of HTA activities in the EU, since 2023. top

Krzysztof Tomasiewicz | Poland
Lecture topic: Prevention of infectious diseases as a challenge by 2030 on the example of HCV

Magdalena Władysiuk | Poland
President of CEESTAHC Society. Vice President of HTA Consulting.In HTA Consulting, she is responsible for the strategic development of the company through research and services development, new product launch and marketing. Ms. Wladysiuk main and primary aim is to provide high quality information or data based on evidence based medicine or health technology assessment methodology not only in Poland but in Europe and Asia. Key role of her work is to improve patient outcomes through better healthcare decisions.
In CEESTAHC she was responsible for the establishing and providing wide connection platform for discussion for all stakeholders in health care system. CEESTAHC mission is to improve the quality of health care systems value with the use of evidence.
She graduatd Medical Academy in Lublin and MBA, economy in Kozminski Academy in Warsaw.
She was Member of HTAi Annual Meeting in 2006-2008. top
Tematy wykładów: JCA – wspólna ocena kliniczna and Cancer care coordination - experiences of patients in Poland

Marek Wójcik | Poland
Marek Wójcik, healthcare expert at the Association of Polish Cities, Deputy Minister of Administration and Digitisation in the years 2014-2015, long-term participant of legislative works in the Polish Sejm and Senate; member of the health and social policy team of the Joint Commission of the Government and Local Governments and participant in the work of the Council for Social Dialogue. Since 2004, he has served three terms as chairman of the Council of the Małopolskie Regional Branch of the National Health Fund, an expert to the Minister of Health for restructuring healthcare facilities and ownership transformations (2009-2011), member of the Council for Public Health and of the Scientific Council of the National Influenza Control Programme. He supervises the activities of medical entities subordinate to the Sądecka Municipal Public Services Zone (pilot project), and the Nowy Sącz poviat. Author of publications on public health and health programmes created by local governments. In his didactic activity, he collaborates i.a. with the Cracow University of Economics, Lazarski University in Warsaw, Warsaw School of Economics, Medical University of Łódź, WSB – National Louis University in Nowy Sącz, and University of Business and Entrepreneurship in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. top

Jan Zygmuntowski | Poland
Economist and social entrepreneur interested in complex systems, political economy of technology and digital economy. Co-President of the Polish Network of Economics and Program Director at CoopTech Hub, first Polish center for platform co-ops. PhD candidate at Kozminski University and lecturer at Management and AI in Digital Society program. Founder and 2015-2020 Chairman of the Board at Instrat, a progressive policy think-tank. He gained experience i.a. in the Polish Development Fund. Graduate of the Warsaw School of Economics, fellow of G20 Global Solutions, British Council, Møller Institute, Open Future Foundation & FEPS. Author of “Network Capitalism” (“Kapitalizm Sieci”), nominated to “Economicus 2020” prize. DigitalEU Ambassador. top