ISPOR’s new strategic plan underscores importance of accessible, effective, efficient, and affordable global health care

ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research has unveiled its new Strategic Plan 2030 representing a new vision for the society to advance health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) globally.

With a membership comprising over 17,000 individuals and chapters across more than 100 countries, ISPOR is the largest global organization within the field of HEOR, uniting a diverse number of stakeholders including academics, industry, health technology developers and assessors, regulators, policy maker, payers and patients. The society has recently announced its long-awaited Strategic Plan 2030 that outlines its next steps and goals. As explained by Rob Abbott (CEO and Executive Director, ISPOR ) in his recent interview with The Evidence Base, the plan, “seeks to position HEOR as a key tool to help forge a world in which health care is accessible, effective, efficient, and affordable for all.”

Led by Abbott and Brian O’Rourke (ISPOR’s 2023–2024 President), in consultation with past and present ISPOR leaders, the plan was guided by three pivotal drivers of global health care:

1. Affordability: Addressing the long-term sustainability of healthcare systems by focusing on cost-effective solutions and equitable access to medical services.
2. Digital Health: Embracing the transformative power of digital technologies to enhance healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.
3. Whole Health: Promoting a holistic approach to health care that improves the overall wellbeing of populations worldwide.

In addition, the organization’s core values were updated to include being transformative, scientific, inclusive, collaborative, transparent, and ethical.

ISPOR has set two initial goals towards realizing their new vision. The first goal aims to ensure ISPOR remains the “world leaders in the definition, measurement, and use of value to improve healthcare decision-making” through the curation of scientific and research excellence. The second goal outlines the organization’s intent to ensure this scientific work is effectively translated and packaged to “make a real difference in the lives of patients worldwide as they access their healthcare system.” This includes the communication of HEOR in plain language to enable broader accessibility, understanding and transparency.

“… the metaphorical ‘finish line’ for much of the work that ISPOR has championed has moved. It is no longer sufficient to curate great science; it is equally necessary to translate that science into plain language and present it to decision makers in a way that enhances understanding and use. The new ISPOR Strategic Plan 2030 reflects this reality.”