Research for Patient and
Public Benefit Wales 2012
When and How to Incorporate Health Economics in your Bid
By Huw Lloyd-Williams from CHEME
What is health economics?


The study of how we use scarce
resources to meet our healthcare
needs
In a public healthcare system like the
UK NHS, this means providing an
evidence base for decision makers to
promote efficiency in terms of meeting
societal goals for producing health gain
and tackling inequalities in health
Health Economics
Our Mission
Founded in 2001, CHEME is one of the leading
health economics centres in the UK
Our aims are:
 To promote and sustain high-quality research
 To maximise opportunities for research grant
capture and publication in high impact journals
 To support the evidence base for decisionmaking in health and social care
 To develop a new generation of health
economists
RfPPB
 Research for Patient and Public Benefit Wales (RfPPB
Wales) is a response-mode funding scheme that will
fund high quality research - directed at achieving benefit
for users of the NHS or the public health of the people of
Wales.
 Guidance for applicants stresses importance of Health
Economics in bids.
 Funded projects are required to:
 Evaluate the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of
interventions.
 Examine the resource utilisation of alternative means for
healthcare delivery.
What CHEME can do for you?
 Help design the methodology for your study
 Provide advice on data gathering
 Conduct data analysis
 Contribute to health economic manuscript for peer
review
 A health economics element in your study will enhance
your chances of receiving funding
Methodological Support
 In its guidance to applicants NISCHR strongly
encourages the host NHS organisation to collaborate
with a NISCHR funded group
 In 2012, NISCHR, Welsh Government awarded
additional resource through the NISCHR Academic
Health Science Collaboration Research Methodology
Support Scheme
 My post is funded by NISCHR under this scheme to
provide methodological support within CHEME
Do you need Health Economics in
your bid?
 Is the intervention a high cost or high volume
intervention?
 Are there potential savings to the NHS, social care from
the intervention?
 Are there wider costs to society of health
problem/intervention you are proposing to study
 Does the health problem/intervention place large cost on
the individual?
Stages of Putting Health
Economics into Bid
 Decide if you need Health Economics in bid.
 Is this a feasibility study/full trial (e.g. full RCT)/
systematic review?
 What is the economic question e.g. what is incremental
cost effectiveness of treatment x for patient group y
measured in terms of outcomes z as compared with
usual care?
 Decide on perspective of research.
 How to measure costs and outcomes?
Measuring Costs
• Direct costs
• medical (eg nursing salaries)
• non-medical (eg patient transport costs)
• Indirect costs
• productivity gains and losses (eg reduced
wages)
• Intangible costs
• psychic costs associated with treatment
(eg pain associated with surgery)
Measuring Outcomes
 Adding years to life (improved survival)
 Adding life to years (improved quality of life)
 QALYs
Methods of Economic Evaluation
in Health
 Cost Minimisation Analysis
 Cost – Effectiveness Analysis
 Cost – Utility Analysis
 Cost – Benefit Analysis
 Cost – Consequence Analysis
CHEME
 Two research groups within CHEME:
 Public Health Economics Research Group led by Prof Rhiannon Tudor
Edwards
 Staff
Dr. Barry Hounsome, Research Fellow
Pat Linck, Research Fellow
Seow Tien Yeo, Research Fellow
Dr. Joanna Charles, Research Officer
Nathan Bray, Research Officer
Huw Lloyd-Williams, Research Officer
 Pharmacoeconomics Research Group led by Prof Dyfrig Hughes
Examples of our work
 Public Health Research:
 Edwards, R.T, Ó Céilleachair A.J., Bywater T, & Hutchings J.
(2007). A Parenting Programme for Children at risk of developing
Conduct Disorder: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis. British Medical
Journal, 10, 334-682.
 Murphy S, Edwards, RT, Williams N, Raisenen L, Moore G, Linck
P, Hounsome N, Ud Din, N, and Moore L. (2012). An evaluation
of the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of the National
Exercise Referral Scheme in Wales, UK: a randomised controlled
trial of a public health policy initiative Journal of Epidemiology
and Community Health doi:10.1136/jech-2011-200689
CHEME’s Public Health Links
Across Bangor University and
BCUHB
BCUHB
Public
Health
Wales
School of Sport,
Health and
Exercise
Sciences
School of
Health Care
Sciences
Translational
Research
CHEME
NWORTH
( RCTs)
School of
Psychology (e.g.
Food Dudes
behaviour change)
What you need to do
Involve us from beginning
Put us as co-applicants
Cost health economics resource
at around 5-10%
Thank you Diolch yn Fawr
CHEME
[email protected]
[email protected]
01248 382273