Research Center for Medical Economics and Health Technology Assessment

While Japan's population is aging rapidly and medical technology is advancing day by day, the universal health insurance system that supports the nation's healthcare is funded by social insurance premiums and taxes. To ensure sustainable healthcare, it is crucial to consider the balance between effectiveness and cost. Health technology assessment is the field that analyzes the cost-effectiveness of a wide range of medical technologies to inform policy-making decisions.

Health technology assessment is an interdisciplinary field that combines fields in medical sciences and pharmacy, such as medical statistics, clinical epidemiology, pharmacoepidemiology, and public health, with fields in economics, such as health economics and public economics. This center serves as a hub for researchers in related fields from various departments within the university to advance research in health technology assessment. It aims to foster collaboration among faculty members widely present within Keio University, lead the field by conducting basic research on methodologies for medical economics and health technology assessment, practical evaluation projects, and joint research with companies, and eventually to take on the role of a national public analysis institution in the future.

Health economics, health technology assessment, cost-effectiveness analysis, health policy

■ Activities to be continued from FY2019: Background, rationale, and goals for continuation

In the coming fiscal year, we will continue to actively advance analyses of medical costs and QOL, which form the basis of cost-effectiveness, for cancer and lifestyle-related diseases that have a significant societal impact in terms of both the large number of patients and medical expenditure. This will be done through the center's research staff's own projects as well as joint research with companies. Although the policy application of cost-effectiveness for pharmaceuticals and medical devices began in FY2019, health economic analysis for other medical practices and preventive care is an urgent issue for Japan, which faces strong fiscal constraints despite a growing need for health and medical care due to its aging population. Evidence to inform policy decisions will continue to be in demand.

■ New activity goals and content for FY2020, and background for implementation

For FY2020, a particular goal is to conduct cost-effectiveness analyses of new, expensive pharmaceuticals and medical devices. As the policy application of cost-effectiveness for pharmaceuticals and medical devices, which began in FY2019, enters its second year, the number of innovative yet expensive pharmaceuticals and medical devices subject to cost-effectiveness evaluation is expected to increase.

■ Implementation details for the fiscal year's business plan, research results, and degree of achievement

Since the system requiring cost-effectiveness evaluation and the economic evaluation of healthcare itself are not widely known to the public, we held a public forum on the current status and issues of cost-effectiveness evaluation on February 15, 2020, with approximately 250 participants.

In terms of research, we actively advanced analyses of medical costs and QOL, which form the basis of cost-effectiveness, for cancer and lifestyle-related diseases that have a significant societal impact in terms of both the large number of patients and medical expenditure. This was done through the center's research staff's own projects as well as joint research with companies, leading to the publication of academic papers and presentations at academic conferences.

Event

Forum Commemorating the Establishment of the Human Resource Development Program for Health Economic Evaluation: "Human Resource Development Program for Health Economic Evaluation"

[Date & Time] Saturday, February 15, 2020, 13:30–16:30

[Venue] Jiji Press Hall (5-15-8 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo)

[Participants] 235 (actual)

[Content]

Keynote Speech: "Current Status and Future Prospects of the Full-Scale Introduction of Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation" by Mr. Naomasa Okada (Director, Office for Promotion of Health Technology Assessment, Health Insurance Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)

Lecture 1: "Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices and Directions for Promoting Innovation" by Mr. Hiroshi Nakamura (Professor, Graduate School of Business Administration, Keio University)

Lecture 2: "How Will Clinical Practice Change with Cost-Effectiveness?" by Mr. Takeo Nakayama (Professor, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University)

Lecture 3: "Health Economic Evaluation: The Distance Between Research and Policy" by Mr. Yoshikazu Kenjo (Professor, Faculty of Business and Commerce, Keio University)

Panel Discussion

Mr. Toru Takebayashi (Dean, Graduate School of Health Management, Keio University)

Mr. Rei Goto (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Business Administration, Keio University)

Mr. Hiroshi Nakamura, Mr. Takeo Nakayama, Mr. Yoshikazu Kenjo

This center is the first research center in Japan with a function for training research personnel in health economics, particularly in health economic evaluation. In preparation for full-scale research activities from the next fiscal year onward, this year we achieved success in presenting the research activities of our members to date and in public relations activities for the center.