From several years to these days, there has been talk of the “fourth guarantee” in the introduction of new medicines in the Sistema Nacional de Salud. This concept refers to the use of efficiency as a criterion for the rational allocation of resources in an environment of scarcity and limitation. However, in actual practice, this term becomes, rather, the “fourth barrier” for therapeutic innovations. And it is so, mainly for two reasons:
1) Because it requires sales teams prepared to meet this criterion of efficiency.
2) Because most of the medical society does not have knowledge in the field of economic evaluation, which makes them distrust the results provided by these studies, and, ultimately, the benefits of such innovations.
A viable alternative to face this obstacle is the development of continuous training and knowledge updating actions that allow all agents in the sector to reach the required level in terms of pharmacoeconomics and economic evaluation of health technologies, in order to facilitate interprofessional relations and contribute together to the development of a sustainable SNS. At Weber we are working in order to improve the understanding of these needs, of the health and pharmaceutical sectors, and to be able to offer those programs that are most appropriate and aligned with them. We are currently standing out in the following modalities:
Master in Economic Evaluation of Health Interventions and Pharmaceutical Policy
This Master, organized by Grupo de Investigación en Economía y Salud (GIES) and the UCLM, in collaboration with Fundación Weber and Capítulo Español de ISPOR, is a postgraduate program (UCLM’s Own Title), which offers the possibility to know the latest advances in the sector, exchange experiences with professionals in this field and acquire knowledge that completes the professional profile of the students. For this reason, it has a faculty of first-rate teachers, who together with the current agenda, contribute to the achievement of its objective.
Continuing training for the doctors who are part of the SNS
These courses, designed exclusively for health professionals of the SNS, and oriented by therapeutic area, as well as technical areas, allow to consolidate the theoretical base in the field of economic evaluation, and to know the practical applications of the same. Currently, formats are being developed, both face-to-face (Courses and Workshops), and online, which allow the reconciliation between training and work life of the professionals of the system, highlighting the Economic Evaluation Courses for clinicians and pharmacists, Advanced Course in Techniques of Modeling.
Economic evaluation workshops, generic and by economic specialty
They are sessions of an eminently practical nature, and they constitute the best way to apply theoretical knowledge to routine clinical activity. The approximate duration of the classes is 3 face-to-face hours, and they are developed with a problem-based learning methodology, offering attendees the possibility of using computers and experiencing in first person the complete process of calculations, essential to carry out a economic evaluation analysis, as well as network meta-analysis, however simple it may be. It is also worth highlighting the development of practical Management and Leadership Workshops, on no less important issues, such as Teamwork, Emotional Intelligence, NLP, Resolving conflicts, etc., as well as the use of ICTs for Healthcare Professionals.
In-company training
This block contemplates the possibility of developing specific programs, tailored to pharmaceutical companies, both from the point of view of their pipeline, as well as from the point of view of the preferred technical support, and the level of difficulty, being able to highlight the Advanced Course Market Access. This program enables field teams to be trained to improve their results, based on solid knowledge of their line, which translates into greater trust on the part of the client.
Debate days
Without any doubt, the best space for the “sharing” of the most current issues, and therefore a lot of “controversy”, are the days of debate, where, depending on the topic to be discussed, we select the opinion leaders most recognized nationally and internationally, in order to guarantee successful results, which we can simply summarize in facilitating dialogue and gradually overcoming challenges.
Weber Courses