ISPOR Through and Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic

"I am proud of the ISPOR members and staff who during difficult times collaborated not only to ensure that ISPOR got through the pandemic, but also continued to drive change in our organization."

Disciplined Research Matters
The COVID-19 pandemic and its crippling drain on healthcare systems around the world drew sober attention to inconsistencies, uncertainties, and issues that ISPOR members have been addressing for a number of years. The importance and availability of credible information was a top concern as journalists and politicians began confidently explaining terms like modeling, outcomes, and “flattening the curve.” Facebook and Twitter users suddenly became experts in herd immunity and vaccines while every family seemed to have a “mock Doc.” Throughout the pandemic, ISPOR members were reminding the world of the importance of disciplined research based on good practices as they witnessed early studies and opinions declared “research” that were occasionally withdrawn—or worse, deemed incomplete or flawed by errors. Research credibility remains at the heart of ISPOR and is one of the ways in which we continue to make an impact.

"We do not have all the answers on how to help nations balance health and economies, nor on how to overcome all budget challenges, but ISPOR can offer knowledge, experiences, and tools to support better decision making."

COVID-19 brought other topics to the forefront, such as inequities in healthcare and access to quality care. As we continue to respond to a global pandemic, ISPOR and its members continue to guide solutions to these and other topics through generating disciplined, relevant economic and health outcomes research. Recently ISPOR hosted webinars and conference sessions that discussed inequities, our publications featured articles in Value in Health and Value & Outcomes Spotlight, and ISPOR is now exploring the formation of a Special Interest Group to focus specifically on the topic of health disparities. The more attention dedicated to this area, the greater impact we can make in improving healthcare decisions … toward a healthier world.

Finally, COVID-19 showcased the role of ISPOR members and their impact on society, which ranges from modeling used to understand and support management of the virus spread, to helping manage its containment, and to informing decisions leading to a healthy recovery. We do not have all the answers on how to help nations balance health and economies, nor on how to overcome all budget challenges, but ISPOR can offer knowledge, experiences, and tools to support better decision making. Together, ISPOR and its members have significant responsibility to society and to healthcare, and that has never been more apparent than it is today.

2020 Wrap-Up
As 2020 drew to a close, ISPOR reflected not only on the mission of the Society, but on the transformation that occurred in ISPOR’s operation as a result of the acceleration of our IT strategies and digital product transformation plans. These plans ranged from rapidly converting all conferences to virtual events, adapting short courses to digital delivery, transitioning all member group meetings to virtual gatherings, to launching new on-demand webinars and new digital member communities.

In 2020, ISPOR also managed to produce a number of special events, including a joint Summit with the US Food and Drug Administration on Patient Preference Information in Medical Device Regulatory Decisions, the launch of ISPOR’s first ever multistakeholder Payer Engagement Summit, and a series of COVID-19 webinars. Members and leaders spoke at many digital conferences on our behalf and were called on as knowledge experts for governments around the world.

Last year, we also reorganized ISPOR’s operational structure, adjusted business models to support a changing world, strengthened communications, and carefully managed ISPOR’s assets to ensure a strong future. A big thank you to members and their companies and institutions for continued support of their Society through volunteer leadership, event participation, and sponsorships.

"We are in a pandemic, but in every challenge there is opportunity. ISPOR will continue to transform as it responds to member needs and to its mission of improving healthcare decisions globally."

Bring on the New Year
As we launch the Society’s 2021 plans, we recognize that uncertainties exist around when and how ISPOR will return to face-to-face events, when we will have opportunities to interact personally with our members, and how to enrich our professional networks when we can’t be together in person. Knowing this, we continue to enhance our digital programs and keep a watchful eye on the state of the pandemic as we forge ahead with all the Society’s strategic plan initiatives set back in 2019, including:

• Completing the ISPOR Science Strategy and integrating it into content strategies to ensure that the Society remains focused on the topics of interest to members and their organizations. Watch for details about our new Science Strategy in the March/April issue of Spotlight and in upcoming member emails.

• The Board of Directors will continue assessing strategic impact and priorities as it leads work streams that are focused on (1) exploring new membership models for ISPOR, (2) advancing our vision to create a leadership pipeline and volunteer recruitment to engage members in all career stages and from diverse backgrounds, and (3) assessing the Society’s important position in lower and middle-income countries with an eye to strengthening ISPOR’s impact around the world, particularly in parts of the world where healthcare needs often outweigh resources and where HEOR could be vitally important. The Board will continue to monitor the Society’s strategic and financial performance, guiding us toward a vibrant and relevant future.

• ISPOR will continue to collaborate with other societies, government agencies, and decision makers in advancing its mission. For example, ISPOR recently penned a collaboration agreement with the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) to enhance information sharing between ISPOR and HIMSS members through featuring speakers at our respective conferences and facilitating dialogue around important digital health topics. ISPOR also partners with the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology, the National Pharmaceutical Council, and the Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy in advancing the Real-World Evidence Transparency Initiative, and with Health Technology Assessment International through a joint task force on deliberative processes. Finally, a member of ISPOR’s Science Team now sits on the ENCePP Steering Group (www.encepp.eu) and I am chairing the National Health Council’s 2021 Health Leadership Conference, one of many examples of how ISPOR gets its message to stakeholders and shares information on HEOR.

Groups and the Future
Looking to the future, we are in good hands. ISPOR’s student and midcareer networks are vibrant, as are our global groups. ISPOR consortia, networks, and our important chapter network continue to thrive with now 85 regional chapters and more than 135 student chapters engaged and advancing ISPOR’s mission around the world.

We are in a pandemic, but in every challenge there is opportunity. ISPOR will continue to transform as it responds to member needs and to its mission of improving healthcare decisions globally.