The University of Melbourne Health Economics Group (UMHEG) is a cross-faculty network of health economists based primarily at the University of Melbourne. The 11th annual UMHEG workshop will be held on Monday November 18th 2019.

The Oct Issue of our Health Economics Unit Newsletter 2019 is now available. In this issue, we are sharing with you our upcoming events, short courses, featured news, research outputs and activities.

We are delighted to welcome Xiuqin Xiong to join the Health Economics Unit as a PhD student. Xiuqin’s PhD study will be mainly focusing on health economics research in the child health area with the guidance of her principal supervisor, Associate Professor Kim Dalziel and co-supervisor, Dr Natalie Carvalho.

Dr Ilias Goranitis participated in the Roundtable on the Economics of Rare Disease Data Federations at the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in San Francisco, CA.

A recent economic evaluation published in the prestigious Lancet Infectious Diseases co-authored by Dr Li Huang and A/P Kim Dalziel from the Health Economics Unit has shown that administering intravenous antibiotics at home is just as effective and safe as in a hospital, if not more so. And, it comes at almost half the cost.

Professor Nancy Devlin (Health Economics Unit, University of Melbourne), and Professor Jeff Johnson (School of Public Health, University of Alberta), co-chaired a round-table meeting of leaders from health care systems in Brussels on September 17th 2019.

Tianxin Pan has recently joined the Health Economics Unit at the Centre for Health Policy as a Research Fellow. She is currently working with Dr Ilias Goranitis on economic evaluation on genomic sequencing testing among patients with complex neurological disease, and after November 2019 will also be working with Professor Nancy Devlin on the measurement on patient reported outcomes and the cost-effectiveness thresholds, and A/Professor Kim Dalziel on economic evaluation in clinical trials and economics of child health.

The Health Economics Unit had a strong presence at the International Health Economics Association (iHEA) Congress held in Basel, Switzerland in July. We were well represented by members of our team delivering presentations across a range disease areas and health economic methodologies.

CHP Seminar: The cost and quality of mental healthcare provision and the value of service quality in the English NHS Presenter: Prof Rowena Jacobs Monday 23rd September 11.15am–12.15pm - Seminar Room 515, Level 5 207 Bouverie Street, Carlton

Dr Natalie Carvalho held a Health Economics training workshop in Suva, Fiji for members of the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MoHMS) on August 13, 2019.

CHP Seminar: Understanding persistency in the high-cost state among mental health patients - Tuesday 17th September 12.30pm–1.30pm

Evaluating the economic benefits of complex interventions: accounting for non-health effects of genomic-based diagnostic information - CHP Seminar Thursday 15th August 2.30pm–3.30pm

Evaluating the outcomes associated with genomic sequencing: current evidence and next steps. CHP Seminar Thursday 22nd August 12.30pm–1.30pm

MSPGH health economists tell the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System that investing in children's mental health pays off many times over.

Max Catchpool, Dr Josh Knight and Dr Ilias Goranitis recently published a manuscript in the journal Genetics in Medicine. The article studies the relative cost-effectiveness of cascade genetic testing in asymptomatic relatives of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).

Max Catchpool and Associate Professor Kim Dalziel recently published their work examining the cost-effectiveness of epileptic surgery compared with medical treatment in children with drug-resistant epilepsy in Epilepsy and Behavior.

Health Economics Unit staff member Dr Li Huang, together with clinicians from Victoria and New South Wales, published a recent article in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

The June Issue of our Health Economics Unit Newsletter 2019 is now available online.

On the 8th of April Professor Nancy Devlin and A/Prof Kim Dalziel participated in the first initiative of its kind for the Australia Chapter of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR).

4-6 September 2019. A three-day advanced course in methods for health economic evaluation.

Launch of a new research program in childhood adversity and mental health

Dr Deborah Marshall from the University of Calgary recently visited the Health Economics Unit.

A/Prof Kim Dalziel and Dr Ekaterina Woods took part in the 2019 Centre for Food Allergy (CFAR) Retreat organised by the Centre of Research Excellence (CRE) in Food Allergy.

A recent article by Dr Natalie Carvalho  and Professor Philip Clarke at the Centre for Health Policy has been published in the International Journal for Equity in Health.

Members of the Health Economics Unit recently participated in the inaugural 2019 OPUS Forum organised by the Centre of Research Excellence in Total Joint Replacement (OPUS).

Dr Natalie Carvalho was invited to present on Economic Evaluation & Budget Impact Assessment at the recent Indonesian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ITAGI).

A recent article by Michelle Tew, Associate Professor Kim Dalziel and Professor Philip Clarke at the Centre for Health Policy has been published in PharmacoEconomics.

Director, Professor Nancy Devlin, recently wrote an article for Pursuit on the economics of good health.

The Health Economics Unit was excited to welcome our new Director, Professor Nancy Devlin, on Monday 21st of January.

26 March 2019 - One-day short course providing participants with an understanding of how economic analysis can be used to evaluate health programs and how this information can aid decision making.

The December issue of the Health Economics Unit Newsletter is now available to read online.

Mr Josh Knight, Mr Max Catchpool and Ms Michelle Tew recently presented at the annual Department of Surgery Research Showcase held on Tuesday 13 November 2018 at the Woodward Conference Centre.

Health Economics Unit members presented at the recent University of Melbourne Health Economics (UMHEG) workshop held on the 14th November 2018 hosted by the Melbourne Institute.

Dr Chris Schilling, a former PhD student and current honorary staff member at the Health Economics Unit, Centre for Health Policy has been awarded by the Head of Melbourne School of Population and Global Health for his outstanding achievement during his doctoral research.

On Wednesday 14 November 2018 the University of Melbourne Health Economics Group (UMHEG) is a cross-faculty network of health economists based primarily at the University of Melbourne.

The Health Economics Unit from the Centre for Health Policy had strong presence both on the organising committee and in the line-up of presenters of the 9th edition of the biennial Mt Hood Diabetes Challenge held recently at the German Diabetes Center (Deutsches Diabetes-Zentrum) in Düsseldorf.

Research by Dr An Duy Tran finds a link between some of the most popular heartburn treatments and iron deficiency.

Associate Professor Kim Dalziel, Dr An-Duy Tran, Dr Natalie Carvalho and Ms Michelle Tew recently presented at the 40th Australian Health Economics Society (AHES) conference in Hobart, Tasmania.

A recent article by Dr Natalie Carvalho at the Centre for Health Policy has been published in a special issue of the Journal of Development Studies.

The Health Economics Unit - Centre for Health Policy is pleased to welcome the recent return of A/Prof Kim Dalziel from her 12-month US Harkness Fellowship in Health Care Policy and Practice.

The Health Economics Unit has recently been appointed by the Department of Health to research and consult on benefit and pricing models for medical devices and prostheses.

A recent article by Dr Natalie Carvalho at the Centre for Health Policy and co-authors has been published in the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies.

A recent article by Dr Natalie Carvalho and A/Prof Kim Dalziel at the Centre for Health Policy has been published in Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation.

The Centre for Health Policy Visiting Health Economic Scholars Program is now open to applicants.

When Medicare was in early development, the goal was to provide affordable, basic health care to all Australians. But a new study has found Medicare spending is higher for children from high socioeconomic backgrounds than their poorer counterparts.

Ms You Wu, a graduate from the Health Economics Stream, has received a 2017 Dean's Honours Award.

Presenter: Professor Philip Clarke (Director, Centre for Health Policy). This seminar provides a broad overview of the development of economic methods for evaluating public health and medical interventions prior to the 1970s.

Drs Kim Dalziel and Li Huang recently shared pediatric health economic research at the PAS meeting in Toronto attended by over 8000 participants.

The University of Melbourne is hosting a half‐day workshop to highlight how  routinely collected data can be used to address policy‐relevant questions.

Members of the Health Economics Unit, Professor Philip Clarke, Dr An-Duy Tran, Xinyang Hua and Michelle Tew contributed to a recent publication in Value in Health, Computer Modelling of Diabetes and Its Transparency: A Report on the Eight Mount Hood Challenge.

The Centre for Health Policy organised a recent policy forum to re-examine and celebrate the 50th anniversary of a landmark speech by the former Prime Minister Edward Gough Whitlam.

A recent article by Dr Natalie Carvalho at the Centre for Health Policy and co-authors has been published in Pharmacoeconomics.

The Health Economics Unit has the pleasure to host Pei-Jung (Peggy) Hsu from the Centre for Quality Management in the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH).

Professor Philip Clarke and Dr An Duy Tran delievered lectures at the Public Health International Workshop, Pasteur Institit, Ho Ch Ming, Vietnam

Jay Stiles and Professor Philip Clarke wrote a summer reading list for the nation’s health ministers.

A policy forum recently re-examined and celebrated the 50th anniversary of a landmark speech by the former Prime Minister Edward Gough Whitlam.

Professor Philip Clarke, Dr An-Duy Tran, Dr Natalie Carvalho, Dr Li Huang, Ms XinYang Hua and Ms Michelle Tew presented at the recent Australian Health Economics Society (AHES) conference held September 21-22 in Sydney, NSW. The annual AHES conference is the largest health economics meeting in Australia, and provides a platform for the presentation and discussion of current research in the application of economics to health and health care systems in Australia and globally.

Revisiting Whitlam's Vision for Health: Economists, Data and Efficiency Forum Friday 6th October, Old Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600

Over the last five weeks, we have had the pleasure to host Arjun Bhaduri from the University of Birmingham as part of our Visiting Health Economics Scholar Program. Here is what he had to say about this time spent at the Health Economics Unit.

Professor Philip Clarke was recently interviewed on the history of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme as part of the weekly Radio National program, The Money.

A recent article by Xinyang Hua, Dr An Duy Tran and Professor Philip Clarke at the Centre for Health Policy has been published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Dr Natalie Carvalho presented at the recent International Health Economics Association (iHEA) congress held July 8-11 at the Questrom School of Business (Boston University), in Boston, USA.

A recent article published in the American Journal of Cardiology highlighted that patients with single ventricle continue to demand considerable inpatient resources after the staged surgical procedures period, and over 40% of the pediatric hospital costs for single-ventricle patients were estimated to occur after the last planned surgery.

The June issue of the Health Economics Unit letter is now available to read online.

The Health Economics Unit is seeking a Senior Research Fellow or a Principal Research Fellow to join our team. A major focus of this exciting role will be to undertake work as part of the Melbourne Genomics Health Alliance (MGHA).

A unique Health Policy Forum will be held on 6 October, 2017 at Old Parliament House, Canberra to look at ways economics and data can be used to improve health policy decision making in Australia.

Our Unit had the pleasure to host Dr Braden Te Ao from Auckland University of Technology (AUT) last week who was visiting the Centre for Health Policy at The University of Melbourne on our Visiting Health Economics Scholar Program.

Health Economics Unit is in collaboration with Prof Tony Blakely to offer a new short course Evaluating Public Health Interventions using Economic and Epidemiologic Methods.

Dr Kim Dalziel presented at the recent Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) meeting held May 6-9 at the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco, the largest Pediatric Research meeting in the world.

A recent article in The Conversation highlights the need for Australia to use health data more broadly and effectively.

Fifty years after we passed a constitutional referendum to count Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Australian Census, data limitations mean they are still not counted in many health statistics.

A recent article published in the International Journal of Cardiology highlighted that non-cardiac inpatient admissions for patients born with single ventricle are common and have substantial resource implications.

The Health Economics Unit of the University of Melbourne was appointed by the Department of Health to research and consult on benefit and pricing models for medical devices and prostheses.

The Health Economics Unit is recruiting a Research Assistant/Research Fellow to join their team.

The former Prime Minister of Australia Gough Whitlam noted in 1967 that one of the problems in discussing health policy in Australia is the lack of reliable official information.

The March issue of the Health Economics Unit letter is now available to read online.

A study published today in the journal PloS Medicine has found that implementing taxes and subsidies could improve diet and population health in Australia.

About this time last year, Australia’s National Health Performance Authority (NHPA) decided not to release data on death rates across Australia’s hospitals.

A study by researchers from the Centre for Health Policy has been referred to by media outlets around the world.