Mission Statement

Health economics is a subject that applies economic theory, models and empirical techniques to the analysis of decision-making by individuals, health care providers and governments with respect to health and health care.

The aim of the new Department of Health Economics (DHE) is to support efficiency and equity concerning health and health care and create relevant interdisciplinary collaborations within the Medical University of Vienna and with other Austrian and international research and decisions making institutions by: 

• Promoting the understanding and use of health economics in research and decision making nationally and internationally
• Developing relevant undergraduate, graduate and professional education and training programmes in Austria
• Fostering research capacity development through the supervision of master and doctorate students in health economics
• Excelling in collaborative applied and methodological research programmes both nationally and internationally
• Acting as a point of call for health care professionals for expert advice

Major research areas include the synthesis of evidence on and appraisal of the socioeconomic burden of diseases, the costs, benefits and cost-effectiveness of preventative, diagnostic and treatment interventions both alongside clinical studies and using modelling techniques. Further research interests cover the evaluation of health services and health systems.

NEWS & EVENTS

»PECUNIA Satellite Workshop in Basel, (17 July 2019)  the 2nd milestone after 17 month - after finalising the multi-sectoral country reports an compiled sector specific master service lists in all participating countries. For more information and registration: PECUNIA Satellite Workshop the 1st satellite workshop during the iHEA Conference in Basel.

»  iHEA WORLD CONGRESS  in Basel, (13-17 July 2019) New Heights in Health Economics

• "Cross-Cultural and Inter-Country Transferability and Validity of the OxCAP-MH Well-Being Questionnaire" (Judit Simon)
•  "Multi-Sectoral Costs and Benefits of Mental Care in Europe: European Research Project PECUNIA" (Judit Simon)

» ENMESH Conference in Lisbon, Portugal (6-8 June 2019) where researchers network and discuss research related issues - Conference on Mental Health Service Research.

• "Patterns of physical comorbidities in patients with selected mental health disorders" (Judit Simon)
•  "The excess resource use and costs of physical comorbidities in patients with mental health disorders: a systematic literature review" (Dennis Wienand)
• "Resource use patterns, healthcare and lost productivitiy costs among adults with and without mental health diagnoses: cross-sectional survey in Austria" (Agata Laszewska)

» 2nd Scientific Advisory Board Meeting in PECUNIA in Vienna (17 May 2019) Vienna took place for updates and to give targeted input.

» 16-18 October 2019: The DHE Short Course "Evidence-based healthcare evaluation: Introduction to evidence synthesis and health economics" is taking place. For more information and registration: DHE Short Course

»ICMPE Conference in Venice (29-31 March 2019)- Fourteenth Workshop on Costs and Assessment in Psychiatry: The Value of Mental Health Services 

• "Valuation Methods in Costing for International, Multi-Sectoral Mental Health Economic Evaluations: A Structured Scoping Review." (Claudia Fischer)
• "Inter-sectoral Costs and Benefits of Mental Care in Europe: European Research Project PECUNIA."(oral presentation) (Judit Simon)
• "The Excess Costs and Resource Use of Physical Comorbidities in Patients with Mental Health Disorders: A Systematic Review. (Dennis Wienand)
• "Ambiguity in Psychotherapy Definition: Is There an Urgent Need of an International Classification?" Giulio Castelpietra, Judit Simon, Luis Salvador-Carulla: