Michael Drummond PhD,
Professor of Health Economics, University of York, York, UK
2006-2007 ISPOR President

Before looking to the future, I want to share a bit of history with you. Ten years ago I was in this hotel, in Philadelphia, responding to a request to give a plenary address at the inaugural conference of a fledgling organization called APOR (the Association for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research). I remember that at the time there was considerable uncertainty about the likely success of APOR.

I am really glad that I accepted the invitation because the Association, shortly thereafter to be renamed ISPOR, has grown from strength to strength. Many people can take credit for that, including those that have provided funds, a series of illustrious past-presidents and Board members. However, the main driving force has been Marilyn Dix Smith and the team she has assembled. They are the reason we are where we are now.

The other reason ISPOR has grown from strength to strength is the gradual improvement in the quality of the science. This is the backbone of any international society and is the main reason why members participate in the meetings and other activities. In particular, I remember the annual meeting chaired by Gerry Oster, at the request of the then president Bryan Luce, which set the standard for meetings in future years. In short, ISPOR is currently in good shape, holding a series of successful meetings, offering a wide range of member benefits, having a high impact journal and being in a sound financial position.

Given this strong position, how can we improve? I have three objectives for the next year, which build on the excellent work of the past-president, Peter Neumann. First, I shall seek to maintain and improve the scientific quality of everything that ISPOR does. Secondly, I shall seek to expand the international base of the Society. You can see from Figure 1 that considerable progress has already been made to this end.

Thirdly, I shall seek to reach out to other disciplinary and interdisciplinary groups, especially decision-makers. You can see from Figure 2 that we have done less well in this regard, being rather short in the ‘practice’ and ‘government’ components of the membership. We need to understand better why the Society does not appeal to these groups and to find ways of attracting them.

Given the strong financial position of the Society, we have the opportunity, over the next year, to invest in activities to make ISPOR even stronger. The Board is giving active consideration to a range of options, including implementation of those components of Vision 2010 that have so far not been implemented, strengthening educational activities, providing fellowships to support international expansion and to respond to some of the ideas proposed by the student membership. These discussions are still ongoing, so I would encourage those with interesting ideas to propose them to the Board.

Finally, I would like to extend an invitation to our next European meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark and the 2007 Annual International Meeting near Washington DC, USA. Wonderful Copenhagen is an excellent venue for a congress, with lots to see and do. The programme is now at an advanced stage and looks very exciting, with a possible joint session involving European leaders in the field of health technology assessment. The Washington DC area meeting will be the last near the US nation’s capital for some time, as from 2008 onwards the Annual Meeting will be held in several different North American locations.

Messages from the ISPOR Presidents