ISPOR By-laws

• By-laws amendment that the Treasurer of the Society is a voting Board member, who is appointed by the Board for up to two 3-year terms. See the ISPOR website at http://www.ispor.org/ by_laws.htm for details.

ISPOR Policies & Procedures

• The Value in Health Policies and Procedures document. For a copy of the Value in Health Policies and Procedures, email your request to viheditor@ispor.org
• The restructure of the Value in Health Management Advisory Board (MAB), which has an oversight responsibility for the management of Value in Health. The committee will now consist of a 3-member team, each with a 3-year term. Board appointees are Bryan Luce (1 year), Jon Clouse (2 years), Brenda Motheral (3 years).
• The length of term for the Value in Health Editor-in-Chief contract is 4 years.
• A Value in Health Editor-in-Chief open solicitation process, which would occur at the end of each Value in Health Editor-in-Chief contract term, with the understanding that an incumbent Editor-in-Chief can respond to the solicitation, if interested.
• Jean Paul Gagnon appointed Treasurer for a second 3-year term.
• Protocol development for the selection of the next ISPOR Treasurer (involving an open solicitation to the ISPOR membership).
• A revised ISPOR Institutional Council Standard Operating Procedure, which included a revised procedure for the election and term of office of the Institutional Council Chair. This position is now consistent with other ISPOR leadership positions.
• The creation of the ISPOR Strategic Outreach Committee with Mike Drummond as chair. The mission of this new committee is to follow changes in other societies whose membership overlaps that of ISPOR and to consider areas where we might collaborate or even consolidate, with the goal of developing within ISPOR a broader, more effective membership base and greater influence of healthcare decision-making processes.
• All ISPOR Committee and Task Force Chairs (if not employed by a pharmaceutical/device/diagnostic company or contract research organization) receive complimentary Annual Meeting or Annual European Congress registration.
• The evaluation of all ISPOR Committee and Task Forces each year prior to the end of the ISPOR Leadership year (July 1 to June 30) to determine if the Committee or Task Force should be discontinued for the next ISPOR Leadership year.

ISPOR Mission

• Embraced the ECHO model for outcomes research (i.e. ECHO=economic, clinical, and humanistic outcomes) and suggested that, perhaps in the future, the acronym, ISPOR, should be presented as: ISpOR (with p for population) to support the breadth of the scope of the Society. The Board also agreed that the scope and mission of Value in Health should be consistent with the mission and scope of the Society.

• Legg Mason, and its initial portfolio, as the Financial Manager/Plan for the ISPOR long-term funds ($300,000).
• he ISPOR Financial Auditor’s recommendations (as published in the ISPOR 2000 Financial Audit Report). For a copy of the Financial Audit Report, contact mdsmith@ispor.org.
• No in-kind contributions are accepted in contractual agreements.
• The Blackwell Science Value in Health 2002 Budget.

• ISPOR Avedis Donabedian Outcomes Research Lifetime Achievement Award. For the award description, criteria for selection, nomination process, and selection process, see the ISPOR website at http://www.ispor.org//awards/vote_donabedian.htm.

• Development of a symposium on the use of pharmacoeconomic information in formulary decisions for the AMCP Fall Meeting to be held October 2001 in Dallas, Texas, USA.
• Printing of the Annual Meeting and European Congress Contributed Workshop Abstracts in the meeting program brochure and published at the ISPOR website.
• Financial support of the PRO (Patient-Reported Outcomes) Harmonization Initiatives (a joint effort of ISPOR, ERIQA, PhRMA HOC, ISOQOL, and FDA).
• Development of a protocol on how to handle solicitation of funds from outside organizations.

• Concurred with the ISPOR LEXICON Second Edition outline developed by Chris Pashos. For more information contact mdsmith@ispor.org.
• Terminated the CEA & Managed Care: Maintaining Health of Population Conference Proceeding project.
• Endorsed the following Statement of the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) published in this issue of ISPOR NEWS and at the ISPOR website at: http://www.ispor.org/valueinhealth_index.htm
• Responded to a (advisory) letter from Blackwell Science concerning the journal’s financial issues. As a consequence, the MAB will: a) meet with representatives of Blackwell Science to discuss ViH expectations both short-term and long-term;
  b) develop a Value in Health Survey to determine the expectations of the ISPOR members; c) develop a ViH Supplement strategy.
• Name change from ISPOR NEWS to ISPOR CONNECTIONS
• Endorsed the ISPOR Commissioned Paper Initiative: ‘Moving beyond Budget Mentality in Europe’ with the understanding that the commissioned papers will be submitted to Value in Health as first choice.

• Task Force Reports are published in Value in Health, as a ‘within book’ manuscript according to the review policies and procedure determined by ViH Editor-in-Chief and that the ISPOR Board of Directors must approve publication of the Reports in any non-ISPOR publication.
• Requested that the Quality of Life Special Interest Group and the Health Science Committee Quality of Life Task Force define what actions to be taken with respect to the WHO initiative to standardize the measurement of health status of national and international populations.

The following ISPOR Student Chapter:
• ISPOR Student Chapter - Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.
• ISPOR Student Chapter - The Ohio State University.
• ISPOR Student Chapter – West Virginia University.
• ISPOR Student Chapter – University of New Mexico.
• ISPOR Student Chapter – University of Toledo.
• ISPOR Student Chapter – University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland.
• The Chinese Chapter of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research as an official regional chapter of ISPOR.

Other Organizations:

• The following statement concerning the AMCP Format for Formulary Submissions:
  The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research Board of Directors views the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy document, “A Format of Submission of Clinical and Economic Data in Support of Formulary Consideration by Managed Health Care Systems in the United States” as consistent with the mission of the Society, which is to translate pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research into practice to insure that society allocates scarce health care resources wisely, fairly, and efficiently. In addition, the AMCP initiative is consistent with a recent “Bridging the Gap” initiative (i.e. bridging the gap between the development of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research evidence and the integration of the resulting evidence with drug formulary decision-making). Consequently, ISPOR welcomes the introduction of the guidelines based, in part, on a complete review of evidence, including health economic and patient-based outcomes, as a positive step toward the goal of evidence-based decision-making in health care. There are various guidelines for submission of pharmacoeconomic information around the world, most of which are fundamentally similar to the AMCP format. Although the Society does not endorse any particular guidelines, it does endorse the development of explicit guidelines for decision-making based on evidence of health outcomes. Further, ISPOR expresses interest in participating in some meaningful way in the evaluation of the issues associated with the construction and use of AMCP guidelines. For instance, ISPOR's meetings and symposia can be useful to clarify issues and to improve methodology. ISPOR is also committed to assisting health care decision-makers and practitioners in the field better understand the basics of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes analyses including their interpretation as a means to providing more efficient health care. ISPOR views guidelines, such as those issued by the Academy, to be fluid documents that will change over time with improvements in methods, more input and understanding from consumers and decision-makers as well as changing health care delivery and data systems. ISPOR offers its services and access to its members to address specific issues such as those addressed above.
• Responded to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)’ Health Carrier Prescription Drug Benefit Management Model Act as well as ISPOR testified at the NAIC meeting on the Model Act. For responses sent to the NAIC, see: http://www.ispor.org/news/articles/0702/naic_.html.

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