HEOR Across the Globe

Editor’s Note: Value & Outcomes Spotlight is pleased to introduce “HEOR Across the Globe” as a recurring section in the magazine. The Section Editors work with a small team of Regional Reporters from Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa to cover developments in health policies, news, and events from these regions. If you have ideas for a story or want to contribute an update, please email voseditor@ispor.org.

ASIA PACIFIC

Section Editor: Paula Lorgelly, PhD, Auckland, New Zealand

The Advancing Patient-Centered Outcomes Down Under Conference 
Jessica Roydhouse, PhD, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia; and Brendan Mulhern, PhD, University of Technology Sydney, Australia on behalf of the Organizing Committee

Attracting 101 delegates, including 16 students, the inaugural Advancing Patient-Centered Research Down Under Conference was jointly hosted by the International Society for Quality of Life Research Australia and New Zealand Special Interest Group (ISOQOL ANZSIG) and ISPOR’s Australian and New Zealand Chapters.

Held at the University of Technology Sydney Aerial Function Centre (1-2 December), the conference facilitated regional networking and collaboration among academic and industry researchers, early- and mid-career researchers, and higher degree research students. Building on the experience of the conveners of the ISOQOL ANZSIG virtual conference held in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the conveners of this 2025 jointly hosted in-person conference were delighted by the interest and participation of the conference attendees. 

The conference was opened by Michael West from the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, who gave the Welcome to Country, a ceremony which honored the land upon which we gathered. We were pleased to have 2 international keynote speakers: Mark Sculpher, PhD, MSc from the University of York and Melanie Calvert, PhD from the University of Birmingham, both in the United Kingdom. Professor Sculpher talked about making economic evaluation patient centered. Professor Calvert discussed patient-reported outcomes in early phase trials and inclusive data collection. The 2-day conference featured 6 themed presentation sessions, 3 panel sessions, a Poster Walk, and several networking opportunities, including Dine Arounds on Day 1. Dine-Arounds are an ISOQOL annual conference tradition. For those who take part, attendees are grouped according to cuisine preferences and they have dinner together. It is an opportunity to meet and network with new people who you may not otherwise have met.

The conference Co-Chairs were the outgoing ISPOR Australia Chapter President, Brendan Mulhern, and the outgoing ISOQOL ANZSIG Chair, Jessica Roydhouse. Key to the success of the conference was the hard work of the Organizing Committee, including Rachel Campbell (University of Sydney); Ingrid Cox (Menzies Institute for Medical Research); Melanie Hawkins (La Trobe University); Alicia Norman (Macquarie University); Imogen Ramsey (Flinders University); and Elizabeth Walkley (Austin Health) and Vanessa Nolasco, who provided invaluable administrative support. The Steering Committee (Paula Lorgelly [University of Auckland; ISPOR New Zealand Chapter President]; Sandra Nolte [Monash University; ISOQOL President]; Richard Norman [Curtin University]; and Alicia Norman and Claudia Rutherford [University of Sydney]) provided guidance. 

We are grateful for the generous sponsorship of Gilead (Gold Sponsor) and FACIT (Silver Sponsor), which enabled us to recognize and reward research excellence through 5 awards: Best Presentation, Best Symposium/Panel, People’s Choice, Best Poster, and Best Student/Early Career Presentation. The breadth and depth of work presented at this conference was exciting and shows the high standard of patient-centered health economics and outcomes research in Australia, New Zealand, and beyond. Research abstracts from the conference will be published as conference proceedings in a supplement of Quality of Life Research in 2026.

Chinese Diabetes Outcome Model: Using Data to Transform Care and Save Patient Lives  
Juliana NM Lui, PhD, MSc and Juliana CN Chan, MBChB, MD, FRCP, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong

The Chinese Diabetes Outcome Model (CDOM) is the first Asian diabetes patient-level simulation model, an innovation from more than 3 decades of focused research aimed at resolving the unique health challenges faced by the Chinese population with type 2 diabetes. Conventional diabetes models were developed in Western populations which cannot accurately reflect the risk profiles and complications of Asian patients with diabetes, characterized by young age at diagnosis, low body mass index, high visceral fat and propensity for kidney disease and cancer.

The CDOM used high-quality data with minimal missing information of the Hong Kong Diabetes Register for accurate modeling. The Hong Kong Diabetes Register was created in 1995 by the Chinese University of Hong Kong as a data-driven care model implemented through the Prince of Wales Hospital’s Diabetes and Endocrine Centre. This ongoing comprehensive register includes demographics, clinical data, patient-reported outcomes (eg, quality of life, depression, distress, anxiety) and experiences (eg, self-care practices), prescriptions, outcomes and hospitalization costs.

The development cohort of CDOM included 21,453 patients with type 2 diabetes enrolled between 2002 and 2019 with quality-of-life data, followed up for a median of 8 years. For external validation, we utilized territory-wide electronic medical records of patients with type 2 diabetes who attended public clinics in Hong Kong from 2002 to 2019 (n=176,120). The latter represented a larger, diverse patient population to increase the model’s generalizability despite their higher missing data rates. This approach combines the reliability of the Hong Kong Diabetes Register and the broad applicability of Hong Kong territory-wide data.

The CDOM includes risk equations on 10 major cardiovascular-renal-cancer events, severe hypoglycemia, and premature mortality associated with type 2 diabetes. Compared to existing models, CDOM offers more outcome risk equations, longer follow-up, and time-varying covariates. The CDOM is the first model with separate risk equations for ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes, which have different prognostic and therapeutic implications.

By integrating the temporal cost and quality of life regressions utilizing local Hong Kong Diabetes Register data, CDOM will be the definitive model for health economic evaluation of cost-effectiveness of strategies, including drug therapies, diagnostics, devices, digital technologies, as well as program interventions tailored to Chinese populations. As a patient-level simulation model, CDOM enables flexible subgroup analysis that facilitates the identification of high-risk subpopulations in pursuit of personalized medicine with value, accessibility, and precision.

In this global epidemic of diabetes, nearly 500 million people are affected and 50% of them are living in Asia. Given the similar phenotypes for risk factors and outcomes in Asian populations, the external validation of CDOM in other Asian cohorts will serve as a model for design, implementation, and evaluation of prevention and control strategies to combat the rising tide of chronic diseases in Asia.

Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa

Section Editor: Bertalan Németh, PhD, Budapest, Hungary

The “Strengthening the National Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Framework for Greece” initiative is a joint effort supported by the World Health Organization (WHO/Europe) and the European Commission (via DG REFORM and Structural Reform/Technical Support mechanisms) aimed at reinforcing Greece’s capacity to evaluate health technologies in line with European norms.

This program responds to the European Union’s (EU) HTA Regulation 2021/2282, which sets out harmonized rules for clinical assessment of health technologies across Member States. Greece’s existing HTA system—launched in 2018 with an HTA Committee responsible for assessing new pharmaceuticals and guiding pricing and reimbursement decisions—has achieved early successes but retains gaps in methodology, process, transparency, and capacity.

Under this program, Greece is revising its national HTA guidance, aligning methods and procedures with EU best practices and the new HTA regulation, and developing processes to reduce delays and enhance transparency and consistency. It also involves stakeholder consultations (government bodies, patient groups, academia, industry) to refine the framework.

Beyond pharmaceuticals, the program anticipates expanding HTA to medical devices and diagnostics and contemplates establishing an independent HTA body detached from direct ministerial influence. The ultimate objective is to embed evidence-based decision making into Greece’s health system, improve access to safe and cost-effective innovations, and support the sustainability of public health expenditures.

In sum, this initiative marks a significant step toward a more resilient, transparent, and patient-centered health system in Greece, ensuring that innovative technologies deliver maximum value to both citizens and the healthcare system.