Conferences in 2025
Hello dear readers, today I would like to take a break from the recent reviews of health economic models to talk a bit about future conferences that I would like to attend this year, which may be of interest for some of you.
Let’s start with one conference that I used to attend every year since I moved to the Netherlands, that is the Low Lands Health Economics Study Group Conference or, as is more commonly known, the lolaHESG Conference. This is a relatively recent conference that is very much focussed on Dutch research and topics in the field of health economics, although in more recent years the organisers have opened it to a more international audience around the world, i.e. talks are now entirely in English, invited talks are given from international researchers on different themes related to health economics, etc… This year it is organised by the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM) and the Utrecht University Medical Center, and will be held at “de Heerlickheijd van Ermelo” in the Netherlands. All information about this year’s conference can be found at the link above, including structure of the conference, dates, themes, and abstract submission which will close on February 20.
Since I attended my first lolaHESG, back in 2020 in Maastricht, I found this conference really interesting in terms of both the research presented (which spans different types of topics and approaches) and networking opportunities. Indeed, it was through this conference that I came into contact with many different Dutch researchers and organisations and made myself known to different people all around the country. If you are a researcher in the general field of health economics, have something to present on which feedback from experts in the sector is welcome, and are looking for some connections with Dutch researchers, this is the perfect type of conference to attend. The format of the discussion is also particular in that it reflects the UK HESG conference style, where presenters are asked to study and briefly present the work of some other authors at the conference (yes, you understood it right, you will be presenting the work of someone else) to an interested audience. Although this may seem a bit strange, the format is actually great in that it forces authors to read and understand the work of others and engage in a scientific and academic discussion with the authors and the audience during the presentation slot (typically a bit less than 1 hour). Receiving feedback on your work from the presenter and interested people in the audience is an extremely valuable approach which I fully support. The nice thing is that it also deviates the usual conference structure where you simply focus on presenting your work, perhaps also to someone who is not that interested in it, and then switch off your brain. Instead, by being actively involved in the presentation of someone’s else work, especially when this is of extreme interest to you, can lead to have interesting discussions on the topics with the authors themselves and/or the audience as well as provide some nice opportunity for networking and engage with different researchers who are actually interested in the work presented. Unfortunately, since last year, it has become quite difficult for me to attend this conference, usually taking place every year at the end of May, due to teaching obligations that force me to work at the university between period 4-6 (February-June). This is quite inconvenient for me but I generally recommend this conference to anyone who might be interested in receiving some feedback from multiple researchers interested in their work as well as to have the opportunity to do some networking with Dutch health economics researchers.
Similar to the above conference, the Nordic Health Economists’ Study Group meeting or NHESG Meeting, which has the same structure and format as those used by the Dutch and UK study group meetings, but with a major focus on the health economic topics of interest to the Nordic countries. Although I have never attended this conference, I have heard very good things from colleagues and researchers who joined one of its past editions and could be an interesting alternative option to consider if in doubt on where to go to present your work. Have a look at their website to understand whether the topics you are working on might fit well with their themes which, I believe, are strongly focussed on pharmacoeconomics and the development and implementation of health economic models for pharmaceuticals and drugs, often in the form of decision analytic models and their validation. At the moment I write this post, little information has been published about this year’s edition of the conference except that will be held in Oslo (Norway) and that will take place in mid August. Make sure to check their website for future updates if interested.
Another interesting health economic conference, which I have regularly attended with the only exception of last year (due to personal circumstances), is the biannual European Health Economics Association Conference or EuHEA conference which every two years is held in a different European country and that covers a variety of health economic themes with its large and diverse audience. This is one of the biggest conferences in the field of health economics as it covers the research field by means of one of the broadest approaches, from qualitative to quantitative research, from individuals to aggregated level data analyses, from statistical methodology to purely applied studies, from validation to exploratory works, etc… The next edition will be in the summer of 2026 and will be held in Rotterdam (the Netherlands), which might be one important reason for me to attend it given also that I, unfortunately, had to skip the one in 2024. Unlike the previous conferences, the format used is the classical one where authors are simply asked to present their work, often in very short time slots of about 5-10 minutes max, due to the high number of participating researchers coming from all around the world. The conference is usually very well organised and allows authors to present their work to an international audience, although I must confess that due to time constraints and very tight presentation schedules, quite limited discussions or academic debates can take place during the conference dates. Often, when interest in a specific work arises, it is necessary to reach out directly to the authors and ask them questions outside the conference sessions. However, due to its popularity and prestige in the health economics field, if you are a researcher who would like to have a taste what a large conference might look like and are very interested in the specific work of a author presenting at this conference, it certainly provides a useful contact point to establish future collaborations. For anyone interested in it, make sure to follow any updates about the 2026 conference via their website.
Another big conference is the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (Europe) or ISPOR which this year will be held in Glasgow (UK) in November. This is perhaps the most popular health economics-related conference since it is heavily attended by pharmaceutical companies and academic researchers involved in the development, analysis and implementation of health economic models for pharmaceuticals and drugs in a multi-country study setting. I only attended ISPOR Europe once during my PhD and was genuinely impressed by the size of the conference and different types of presenters and authors joining it. In my opinion, this is a type of conference that is not for everybody since it is quite expensive to attend, it involves a lot of marketing and advertisement about the products of pharma companies with little time for a pure academic discussion, and it basically consists in a regular meeting occasion for big corporations to present their work and create networks for collaborations with some researchers and national regulators. I would say that, given its importance and role in the industry, it is certainly valuable to attend it once; however, unless you are specifically looking for a job in the pharma industry or would like to get in contact with them, I do not see a huge value in attending this conference for the mere academic purpose of discussing and receiving feedback on your research.
Finally, I would like to talk about a conference I have been exposed to only recently from one of my statistical colleagues, namely the Royal Statistical Society International Conference or RSS IC, which this year will take place in Edinburgh (UK) at the start of September. I have never attended this conference as it is not related to health economics, although given my expertise and focus on statistical methodology would fit quite well my research topics and could represent an nice way to receive feedback for a selected audience of statisticians. The topics of the conference are quite broad and try to appeal to a wide spectrum of researchers involved in the statistical analysis, especially with respect to medical data. After consulting with some colleagues, I am considering attending this conference as it would also line up quite well in terms of my teaching duties that will allow me to attend it with no problem. I have only looked briefly at the structure of the conference which appears to be standard, although a little pricey. Abstract submission deadline is set to the start of June, giving me still some time to think about it. However, I am quite interested in attending this conference, especially in order to receive some feedback and engage in discussion with some statistical colleagues who could be interested in the more technical part of my work, something that sadly I do not receive very often while attending health economics conferences.
Anyway, thank you again for reading my posts and I hope today’s topic was at least helpful to some of you who might want to look for some conference to present their work. Regardless of the specific conference I will attend, I really hope this year I get to go to some nice places!
Till the next time !