Most Favoured Nation
To avoid that the price of pharmaceuticals differ too much between countries, pricing referencing is commonly used. For many years, European countries have used International Reference Pricing (IRP) or External Reference Pricing (ERP), whereby the price of a medicine is benchmarked against prices in a selected basket of reference countries. The composition of that basket […]
Why Patient Engagement Is Essential for Market Access of Medical Innovation in Belgium
In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that medical innovation is not only a technical or economic issue. It is also a social and ethical one. New treatments, ranging from well-known drugs to advanced therapies such as ATMPs, are reshaping expectations for patients and healthcare providers. Yet these innovations continue to face complex market […]
Faster Access to Innovative Medicines in the BeNeLux
Innovative medicines are evolving one after another at an accelerating pace, yet for patients, access can still feel slow and unequal. Across the BeNeLux countries, different systems exist to bridge this gap, each with its own logic, rules, and pitfalls. In this blog, we take you through Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, and explain how […]
Separate or hybrid economic models?
The Pros and Cons of Using a Single Economic Model for Both Budget Impact and Cost-Effectiveness Analyses Those with experience in health economics will likely have their own perspective on this topic. There are multiple advantages and disadvantages to using a hybrid model that accommodates both a Budget Impact (BI) Analysis and a Cost-Effectiveness (CE) […]
Managing Uncertainty via Deterministic Sensitivity Analysis
Simulating the financial impact of introducing a new technology inherently involves uncertainty. As a result, the central outcome should be seen as an indicative reference for decision-makers who must assess whether the implementation of the new technology aligns with its clinical added value. In one of our previous blogs (“How to Deal with Uncertainties“), we […]
Incidence versus prevalence in economic studies
Some of our clients struggle with “incidence” and “prevalence”, specifically their application in budget impact analysis (set up of a patient flow). Based on our daily analyses, we are happy to share our insights. To start, both concepts must be well understood. We will illustrate them using patients with a specific condition, for example, patients […]
AI in Healthcare: Risks and Opportunities
No one involved in healthcare, including the patient, can ignore it any longer. Artificial intelligence (AI) is deeply embedded in modern healthcare and is evolving rapidly. AI has already provided added value in the clinical interpretation of medical imaging, identification of chronic conditions based on algorithms, and much more. In short, thanks to AI, our quality of […]
The value of a proven pricing structure
If a pharmaceutical company targets to sell a pharmaceutical specialty in Belgium, the Minister of Economy must first approve a maximum price, after assessment by the price committee consisting of 15 members. The applicant must propose an ex-factory price for each registered packaging they wish to trade in Belgium. If a reimbursement procedure is initiated […]
Model hygiëne
If you’re familiar with simulation models you will undoubtedly recognize this… Once the simulation model is made available, you dive into it with the usual enthusiasm. Selection options are traced and (dynamic) input fields and result areas are located. At first glance, everything looks flawless. The model seems to be working well and the supplier […]
Willingness to Pay (WTP) versus Medical Need
A health economic analysis is usually measured over three dimensions: delta costs, health gain (expressed in QALYs or live years gained) and time. Together, these three parameters result in an ‘incremental cost-effectiveness ratio’, or ‘ICER’ for short. The ‘ICER‘ is a well-known measure to assess the extra cost to be invested to win one QALY […]