The Health Economics Committee is looking forward to the upcoming APHA Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.  The Health Economics Committee has been busy preparing for the meeting, where it will be presenting two contributed abstracts sessions, a workshop, several posters, and co-sponsoring 14 sessions.

The two contributed abstract sessions sponsored by the Health Economics Committee are:

-          Applications of Health Economics to Provider Shortages and Hospital Behavior (Session 4149.0 on 11/6/2007 8.30 a.m.-10.00 a.m.);

-          Applications of Health Economics to Health Behaviors and Outcomes (Session 5061.0 on 11/7/2007 8.30 a.m.-10.00 a.m.).

We received 15 contributed abstracts, and each was carefully reviewed by at least two reviewers.  We thank Rafia Rasu for coordinating the reviews and Diane Dewar, Michael Rosko, Scott Grosse, Lijing Ouyang, and Arielle Lasry for conducting their reviews. We also thank Mythreyi Bhargavan for organizing the submissions for the Solicited Sessions.

John Bridges will present the workshop entitled “Using Conjoint Analysis to Understand Patient Preferences for Health Care and Prevention” on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2007 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.  Both in the practice and regulation of health care and public health, most stakeholders are becoming increasingly concerned with the patient’s point of view.  While a number of theory driven methods to understand preferences from economics and management are used in other sectors of the economy, such methods are not commonly understood or utilized in health care and public health.  The workshop will demonstrate the benefits of using conjoint analysis – a method that is becoming increasingly popular among health economists and health care researchers – through hands on activities.  Participants will gain practical experience of using conjoint analysis and develop a better understanding of the value of measuring patient preferences for health care interventions. 

Several health economics-related posters will be displayed during the Medical Care Section poster sessions.

Also, please plan to attend the Health Economics Business Meeting on Monday, Nov. 5, 2007 at 6:30 p.m.  It is open to everyone who is interested in health economics.  We will be discussing plans for next year’s Annual Meeting and issues regarding health economics at APHA.

By Luisa Franzini