Duration
10h Th
Number of credits
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
I. Introduction to Pharmacoeconomics (2 hours)
a. Definition and importance of pharmacoeconomics
- Health economics and pharmacoeconomics
- Issues in the field of health
- Fundamental economic concepts
- Difference between cost and value
II. Actors in the social security and healthcare system in Belgium (2 hours)
- Who are they?
- What are their roles and responsibilities?
- Reimbursement of medicines
- Involvement in European initiatives
Pharmacists are fully-fledged players in healthcare and must therefore be fully aware that their actions have a significant societal impact. They must also know who sets the price of medicines, who determines the value of a medicine, and ultimately who proposes its reimbursement.
We will briefly discuss the Beneluxa initiative, as well as the challenges associated with the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2021/2282 on health technology assessment (HTAR).
III. Economic Evaluation Methods and Tools (4 hours)
a. Cost-effectiveness
- Definition and examples
- Definitions QALYs (Quality-Adjusted Life Years)
- Practical applications
- Principles, advantages and disadvantages
- Practical applications
- Principles, advantages and disadvantages
- Practical applications
- Examples of pharmacoeconomic studies
- Discussion and analysis
- How results influence health policies
- Role in reimbursement decisions
The clear objective is to enable you to understand pharmacoeconomic studies and extract the essential elements for use in decision-making regarding drug reimbursement.
IV. Issues and perspectives (2 hours)
a. New approaches and innovations
- Innovations and new approaches to drug evaluation
- New initiative for drug pricing
- Potential impact on the healthcare system
b. The Belgian healthcare system: challenges and prospects
- A sustainable and accessible system... but at what cost?
We will consider the role of pharmacists in this context and their social responsibility as actors in the healthcare system.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
By the end of this course, you should have developed the following learning outcomes in the areas of competence targeted by the training, namely:
- Pharmaceutical expertise: Master and integrate knowledge to develop a relevant response in relation to the reimbursement of a drug, its cost, or its value to society. Understand the various players involved in the drug economy and the challenges for the healthcare system.
- Preparation and dispensing of drugs: Take appropriate and responsible professional action in accordance with procedures, taking into account the usefulness and cost of the action taken and its impact on society.
- Health advice: Accompany a pharmaceutical action with targeted advice and follow up with patients who need help obtaining adequate reimbursement for their drugs when this is not the case.
- Communication: Communicate professionally and adapt the message to different audiences in order to be able to clearly explain to patients the reasons for non-reimbursement of a medication, the criteria for reimbursement of a medication, the amount of the co-payment, and to provide information on the costs of services provided under health insurance in Belgium, etc.
- Scientific approach: Solve health-related problems by integrating and critically analyzing different scientific approaches that take into account elements extracted from pharmacoeconomic studies. Understand the methods and tools of health economics evaluation.
- Sense of responsibility: Act ethically and responsibly in order to actively participate in the sound management of healthcare system costs for our society.
- Quality: Evaluate, self-assess, update knowledge, and improve practice. Be able to follow developments in the economics of medicine and adapt behavior as a healthcare provider, taking into account recurring supply tensions, the cost of medicines, their value to society, and therefore their potential reimbursement.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
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Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Face-to-face learning activities:
Lectures alternating with discussions related to learning activities.
In addition, exercices will illustrate the theoretical concepts and their understanding will be directly evaluated using the interactive Wooclap platform.
Distance learning activities (mandatory):
Completion of exercises similar to those carried out during the course.
Two formative assessments to be completed via eCampus.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Blended learning
Further information:
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Course materials and recommended or required readings
Platform(s) used for course materials:
- eCampus
- Microsoft Teams
Further information:
The following course materials will be available:
- PowerPoint slides;
- course notes summarising key points covered in class and providing useful explanations for contextualisation;
- exercise questions and answers from the course.
- Beresniak, A., Duru, G., Auray, J.-P., Bonnevay, S., Lamure, M., & Sambuc, R. (2020). Économie de la santé. Elsevier Masson.
- Annemans, L. (2018). Health economics for non-economists: Principles, methods and pitfalls of health economic evaluations. Pelckmans.
- Crochard-Lacour, A., & LeLorier, J. (2000). Introduction à la pharmacoéconomie (1re éd.). Presses de l'Université de Montréal. https://doi.org/10.4000/books.pum.14336
- Planel, M.-P., & Bénamouzig, D. (2024). Médicaments : à quel prix ? ([Nouvelle édition]). Hygée éditions.
- Medicine prices: https://economie.fgov.be/fr/themes/ventes/politique-des-prix/prix-reglementes/medicaments-usage-humain
- Reimbursement of medicines: https://www.inami.fgov.be/fr/themes/soins-de-sante-cout-et-remboursement/les-prestations-de-sante-que-vous-rembourse-votre-mutualite/medicaments/remboursement-d-un-medicament
- KCE publications: https://kce.fgov.be/fr/publications
- Beneluxa Initiative: https://beneluxa.org/collaboration
- Real World Evidence for Decision: https://rwe4decisions.com
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam ( multiple-choice questionnaire, open-ended questions )
Further information:
Written exam on the defined subject matter.
Theoretical exercise of the same type as those given during the term AND fill-in-the-blank exercise.
Participation in distance learning activities will be included in the final grade.
Work placement(s)
Possibility to do an internship during Q9.
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
- Attendance is not mandatory. However, it is highly recommended to attend as many classes as possible.
- Regarding the use of generative artificial intelligence:
Contacts
Frédéric LECOMTE, Associate professor
Department of Pharmacy
Pharmaceutical legislation and pharmacoeconomics
Quartier Hôpital - Avenue Hippocrate 15
Bâtiment B 36
4000 LIEGE (Belgium)
Phone: +32 4 3664316
e-mail: f.lecomte@uliege.be
No secretariat