Hungary Regional Chapter

Chapter Activities

Reaching out to a wider audience in health economics, November 28, 2019

In order to reach out to a wider audience in the field of health economics, the ISPOR Hungary Chapter organized two special events at the end of 2019. An educational Symposium took place on November 28. In line with the Chapter’s Patient Engagement Strategy, a patient-centered conference was organised on December 2. Both events had over 100 attendees.

During the Symposium the future of healthcare, especially therapies of rare diseases were discussed with Professor Mária Judit Molnár and with Judit Bidló from the Health Insurance Fund. The presentations of the second half of the event focused on other novel topics, such as the role of the internet healthcare information shared by Hunor Novák MD, and the sustainability of the healthcare systems by Ádám Márky MD.

During the patient-centered conference, following the introductory presentations, two roundtable discussions were conducted. The first focused on the role of patient organizations in the decision-making system, while the second discussion was about the potential colalboration between patient organizations and various other healthcare institutions. The event continued with an interactive workshop on the potential strengthening of the aforementioned collaboration. At the end of the conference, the winners of the poster presentation competitions were announced.

Overall, both events achieved their goals. Both featured speakers representing various stakeholder groups and either discussed novel topics, and engaged new audiences – most importantly patient representatives. Based on these positive experiences, the ISPOR Hungary Chapter encourages other Chapters to also widen the scope of the audiences in order to increase the visibility of health economics.

ISPOR Hungary Chapter Meeting at ISPOR Europe 2019, Copenhagen, Denmark

The aim of this meeting was to offer a platform for discussion of actual health economic issues for professionals and for those interested in health economic science.

This year we initiated to invite Hungarian colleagues who work abroad. With this event we’d like to catalyze the cooperation and develop the international scientific network of Hungarian professionals.

Further objectives of our chapter meeting are the widespread promotion, instruction and the practical use of the means and methods of health economics, the provision of professional self-education and representation of professional interests for health economists. This year ‘Big data & Data Science’ was in the focus with two distinguished guests – Robert Nagy (PhD student, University of Edinburg) and Gyöngyi Szedlay (Senior Director, IQVIA).

Patient Educational Workshop

28 May 2019, Budapest, Hungary

The first patient educational workshop was organised by the ISPOR Hungary Chapter on 28 May 2019 in Budapest.

Greetings and the introductory presentation was delivered by ISPOR Hungary Chapter President Bertalan Németh, followed by a detailed explanation of health economics and health technology assessment (HTA) by Gergő Merész, the head of the HTA Office of the National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition. After a short break, Áron Vincziczki, head of department at the National Institute of Health Insurance Fund Management explained the key principles that guide the payer in the decision making process. Ivett Jakab, who is both a health economist and a patient representative, presented her views on the possibilities of patients being part of the decision making process. The final item of the agenda was the open discussion, where participants asked several questions from the presenters, related to both the practical issues and the theoretical framework of the healthcare system. This multistakeholder workshop achieved its goals, as the more than 40 patient representatives who attended were able to learn about the way key institutions operate, and were also able to engage in direct dialogue with them. 

Annual Conference on Health Economics

24 April 2019, Budapest, Hungary

The ISPOR Hungary Chapter held its 13th Annual National Conference focusing on health economics and health policy on 24 April 2019 in a more prestigious environment, near a small lake in Budapest.

The total number of participants was over 200, with dozens of journalists attending the event as well. Dr Ildikó Horváth Secretary of State for Health gave her presentation to a fully packed auditorium, like plenary speakers Dr Zsolt Kiss, head of the National Institute of Health Insurance Fund Management, Dr Mátyás Szentiványi, head of the National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition, József Bodrogi, leading health economist, and Atitla Oláh from the Private Insurance Association. The event covered a wide range of topics discussed by various stakeholders, from representatives of the public sector, academia, industry, patient groups, and several others. Awards were given to the best poster and oral presentation according to the votes of participants. The traditional roundtable discussion at the end of the conference focused on the healthcare-related proposals of the Central Bank of Hungary.

Annual Conference on Health Economics

9-10 May 2018, Budapest, Hungary

The ISPOR Hungary Chapter held its annual national conference focusing on health economics and health policy on 9-10 June 2017. The event also commemorated the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ignaz Semmelweis, the "saviour of mothers". 

More than 190 participants attended the 2-day conference, which had sessions of various topics from the fields of health economics and health policy . Plenary speakers included Professor Béla Merkely, the newly appointed Rector of Semmelweis University, Professor Attila Chickán and Dr Kristóf Lehmann presenting on the current economic trends, Prof Imre Boncz from the University of Pécs, Dr Tamás Szolyák from the National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition, and Csaba Grózli presenting from the patient perspective. The international section was opened by Jon Campbell, PhD from the University of Denver, followed by presentations of international students. The conference was concluded with a traditional roundtable discussion of various key stakeholders.

Educational Seminar of ISPOR Hungary Chapter and ISPOR Egypt Chapter

ISPOR Hungary Chapter and ISPOR Egypt Chapter joined efforts to hold an educational seminar with the focus of “The Role of Private Health Insurance in Countries in the Transition to Universal Health Coverage.”

This seminar took place November 27 2017 in Budapest, Hungary at the Eötvös Loránd University.

The seminar had the participation of Dr Ehab Abouelmaged, Head of Egyptian Healthcare Management Society, Dr Zoltán Kaló Professor of Health Economics, ELTE University/Syreon Research Institute, Dr Jenny Sedlak, Roche, Market Access Manager Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa, and Dr Sherif Abaza President Elect: ISPOR Egypt Chapter.

National Training and Conference on Health Economics, 22-23 June, 2017, Pecs, Hungary

Public Health Aspects and Programs in Hungary

ISPOR Hungary Chapter organized a very successful 2-day national conference focusing on health economics on 22-23 June, 2017. The event has taken place at University of Pecs, Szentagothai Research Centre. The venue was selected because the University was celebrating the 650th anniversary of the foundation of PTE.

More than 150 participants attended the conference, which had 3 plenary sessions, 3 health policy sessions, 1 health insurance session, 3 HTA sessions, 1 drug policy session, 2 poster sessions.

The conference included one international plenary session with the invited speakers from ISPOR CEE Network Regional Chapters who presented about the acute challenges of HTA and reimbursement in Central and Eastern Europe: Dr. Dragana Atanasijevic (ISPOR Serbia Chapter), Dr. Tomas Tesar (ISPOR Slovakia Chapter), Dr. Oresta Piniazhko (ISPOR Ukraine Chapter) and Dr. Rok Hren (ISPOR Slovenia Chapter).

Dr. Finn Borlum Kristensen, ISPOR HTA Council Chair (Denmark) made a presentation about the benefits of international cooperation in HTA.

ISPOR President, Prof. Lou Garrison Presented in a Symposium in Health Economics

Budapest, Hungary 2016

ISPOR 19th Annual European Congress, 29 October-2 November 2016 Austria Center Vienna, Vienna, Austria

Great Participation of ISPOR Hungary Chapter at Vienna Congress!

ISPOR Hungary Chapter Activities at the Vienna Congress.

ISPOR 19th Annual European Congress in Vienna, Austria brought together under 5000 attendees from 89 countries of the world; congress featured nearly 2,500 presentations and included decision-makers, government officials, leading researchers and experts, academicians, students, pharmacists, public and private payers, HTA bodies, patients, patient advocates and many other stakeholders.

EMEA chapters showed great enthusiasm in organizing eminent meetings presenting interesting and urgent topics for the discussion, attracting numerous audience.

ISPOR Global Networks acknowledge a notable participation of ISPOR Hungary Chapter Activities at the Vienna Congress: CEE Network Executive and Working Committee meetings, CEE Network Reception, plenary sessions, poster and podium presentations, issue panels, etc.

ISPOR Hungary Chapter conducted a very interesting meeting discussing many exciting topics of great interest for all the attendees.

ISPOR Hungary Chapter Meeting Summary