University of Michigan ISPOR/AMCP Student Chapter Attends 2016 ISPOR Conference
The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) 21st Annual International Meeting was held from May 21-25, 2016 in Washington, D.C. This year the conference had its highest attendance with nearly 3,800 attendees and included over 1,800 presentations.
Attendees from the University of Michigan included Yun Han, PhD’15, Jifang Zhou, MPH’16, Mark Yang, PharmD’17, Kristina Kan, PharmD’19, and Michael Tsai, PharmD’19.
The theme of the conference was “Value, Affordability, and Patient Centeredness: Can We Have it All?” Presenters explored this theme along with other topics relating to health economics and outcomes research through plenary sessions, discussion panels, research podiums, and various workshops. Panelists came from a wide variety of backgrounds, including academia, industry, managed care, government, and patient advocacy groups.
The first plenary session discussed the approval of medications for Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), an X-linked disorder typically affecting boys at an early age. A patient advocate, the mother of a son with DMD, voiced patient needs and priorities, while clinicians and researchers expressed the need for strong data as well as suggestions for the clinical trial process in order to address patient concerns. The mixture of patient and research needs helped attendees appreciate the difficulty of bringing a treatment to market.
Topics covered by other panels included the use of post-marketing data in payer decisions. Representatives from managed care shared their process of formulary management and the use of real-world data in their decisions.
The ISPOR Student Network serves to connect students with resources to further their academic development and assists the formation of connections between students and working professionals. Mr. Yang received the ISPOR Distinguished Service Award for his work as the Public Relations Committee Co-Chair for the Student Network at the Student Leadership Retreat, an annual part of the conference where ISPOR Student Chapter leaders participate in various committees of the Student Network and outline initiatives for the upcoming academic year.
Founded in 2000 as the 5th ISPOR Student Chapter, the ISPOR/AMCP student organization within the College of Pharmacy aims to expose student pharmacists to non-traditional career opportunities. ISPOR/AMCP was represented at the conference by Mr. Yang, former President, and Mr. Tsai, Vice President of AMCP. Attendees from the University of Michigan were able to network with other pharmacy students in addition to representatives from industry, managed care, and contract research organizations (CRO). The U-M chapter participated in the Student Research Competition, a tournament style jeopardy competition involving terms related to health economics and outcomes research.
