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Award Background
The awareness and influence of health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) is growing significantly as health systems across the globe are increasingly challenged to deliver the best possible healthcare to patients in a budget-constrained environment. ISPOR is committed to elevating research that makes meaningful improvements to health and healthcare, as underscored by the Society’s Strategic Plan 2030.
The ISPOR Impact Award recognizes the positive influence HEOR professionals have in making high-value healthcare (ie, patient-centric, value-based healthcare) more accessible, effective, efficient, and affordable at the international, national, regional, health system, hospital, and/or individual care levels.
This award highlights tangible examples of HEOR insights being used to:
- Drive healthcare decision making to support regulatory, reimbursement, or coverage decisions for health technologies
- Influence policy decisions to optimize healthcare resource allocation or improve patient access, affordability, or outcomes
- Promote evidence-based and transparent healthcare decision making through innovative tools and methods
- Advance patient-centric engagement efforts to ensure that patients have a voice in the healthcare decision-making process
Importantly, case examples will draw a direct line from the work on a project to a meaningful, quantifiable, and clearly articulated outcome (eg, new intervention or benefit approved, new policy adopted, number of patients impacted).
Awardees may include both individual investigators and project teams.Criteria:
- Any individual or project team working in the field of HEOR anywhere in the world, who has made a tangible contribution to make high-value healthcare more accessible, effective, efficient, and affordable through an HEOR initiative (eg, research project, guidance or knowledge transfer, publication, or stakeholder engagement activity) is eligible for this award.
- The award is targeted toward research that has a demonstrated positive impact achieved on patient outcomes, rather than purely academic achievement. Examples include, but are not limited to, a new intervention or benefit approved at the policy level; a new policy or program that has been adopted; the number of patients impacted, QALYs gained, or DALYS averted.
- Case examples should draw a direct line from the work on a project to a meaningful, quantifiable, and clearly articulated outcome.
- Academicians, industry professionals, economists, researchers, and others who meet these criteria are eligible, including ISPOR members.
- Self-nominations are welcomed.
- Deceased individuals are not eligible for the award. However, should the recipient die after the award was granted and prior to receiving the award, it may be presented posthumously.
- A candidate may only be nominated for 1 major ISPOR award in a year.
Nomination Process:
Nominations may be made by any ISPOR member. Members may nominate more than 1 person/entity; however, a completed letter of recommendation must accompany each nomination. Nominators are responsible for ensuring that all necessary documentation is forwarded with their submission.
Nominations for this Award require a letter of support outlining the nomination's rationale, including a background on the nominee/s and their relevant contribution/s, as well as their impact, making explicit reference to how the core award criteria are being met. Additional supporting evidence including public references may also be provided to support the recommendation.
Nature of the Award:
The ISPOR Impact Award will be presented at the ISPOR Awards Ceremony at the ISPOR Conference. In addition to the physical award, awardees will receive the following:
- A complimentary registration to the ISPOR conference (provided to 1 representative of a team, if applicable)
- Travel and accommodation expenses to the ISPOR conference, per the ISPOR Travel Reimbursement Policy (provided to 1 representative of a team, if applicable)
- A $10,000 unrestricted grant
- The award honoree will also have their contribution featured in an ISPOR publication
Impact Award Recipients
Head of Evidence and AI Solutions, Value Analytics Labs; Boston, MA, USA
2025 - Rachael Fleurence, PhD
Rachael L. Fleurence, PhD, MSc, is the former Senior Advisor to Dr. Francis Collins at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where she provided strategic and operational leadership for a national Hepatitis C elimination initiative, which has since led to bipartisan legislation introduced in the United States Congress. She also advised the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), focusing on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Earlier, she served as a senior health policy advisor in the Biden-Harris White House and as a Senior Advisor to the NIH Director, playing a key leadership role in the federal COVID-19 response, including overseeing the “Say Yes! COVID Test” initiative and contributing to White House pandemic policy groups.
Prior to her federal service, Dr. Fleurence led the National Evaluation System for health Technology Coordinating Center (NESTcc) and PCORnet at the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). Earlier in her career, she worked in health economics, outcomes research, and consulting.
Dr. Fleurence has received multiple NIH Director’s Awards, the HHS Secretary’s Award for Distinguished Service, and was named a National Champion for Global Hepatitis Elimination in 2023. She co-led the ISPOR Task Force on Electronic Health Records for Health Technology Assessment, co-chairs a new ISPOR Task Force on the use of Generative AI in Systematic Literature Reviews, serves on the ISPOR Working Group on Generative AI, and is an Associate Editor for Value in Health.
Director, Institute for Technology Assessment, Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School; Boston, MA, USA
2025 - Jag Chhatwal, PhD, MS
Jagpreet Chhatwal, PhD, is Director of the MGH Institute for Technology Assessment at Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. His research centers on decision science, AI, and health economics. He leads research across multiple areas including hepatitis C, liver cancer, and opioid use disorders. Chhatwal has co-authored over 130 research articles, and his work has influenced health policies at the White House and World Health Organization. His research has been featured in major media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Forbes. Additionally, he teaches meditation workshops and serves as a meditation coach, integrating mindfulness practices with his scientific work.