YHEC's experts share insights at ISPOR Europe

The YHEC team had a highly successful presence at ISPOR Europe in Glasgow, with 11 experts attending, including YHEC CEO, Professor Matthew Taylor. Our team actively contributed to shaping key discussions and sharing cutting-edge research with the global health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) community.

Senior Research Consultant, Melissa Pegg, played a leading role in the conference's discussions on environmental sustainability. Melissa led two panel discussions, sharing her expert insights on the critical question of whether and how environmental sustainability can be effectively integrated into health technology value frameworks.

Our experts also presented a diverse range of innovative research across various HEOR domains, showcasing the depth of YHEC's expertise. The team presented posters on topics including:

• Structured Expert Elicitation (SEE)
• Distributional Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (DCEA)
• The innovative use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Systematic Reviews

Read more about the discussions and key topics at ISPOR in our latest blog.

YHEC at ISOQOL: AI's promise needs responsible data use

YHEC Project Director, Andria Joseph, was at the forefront of discussions on global patient-centred outcomes at the ISOQOL 2025 Annual Conference in Milwaukee, USA.

The expanding role of AI in developing clinical outcome assessments was a key theme. While AI offers exciting possibilities, Andria emphasised that our continued focus must be on collecting, interpreting and using the underlying data responsibly and meaningfully.

Andria also had the opportunity to lead a Health Economics and Value-Based Healthcare workshop and chair a Health Preferences session, sparking excellent debate on HTA policy and practice.

If you’d like to find out more about YHEC’s experience at ISOQOL, get in touch. 

More than just a number: perspectives on the NICE cost-effectiveness threshold

For over two decades, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) threshold has helped shape access to new health technologies in the NHS. But does the long-standing £20,000-£30,000 per QALY benchmark still reflect today’s realities?

Our blog brings together YHEC's Professor Matthew Taylor, Stuart Mealing, Hayden Holmes and Robert Malcolm to unpack what the threshold really means, to explore why debate about changing it has intensified, and what a shift could mean for patients, industry and the health system.

From opportunity cost and innovation to transparency and political influence, this roundtable explores how one number continues to influence the value placed on health in the UK.

Read the full discussion.

Balancing the AI revolution in cancer diagnosis

YHEC CEO, Professor Matthew Taylor, chaired a thought-provoking panel at the Cancer Care Conference, where the spotlight was on the transformative potential of AI in diagnostics.

The discussion focused on a crucial public health challenge: how to effectively balance the significant benefits of earlier diagnosis with the inherent risks and substantial costs of implementation.

The debate generated critical insights into building a responsible path for AI integration. The discussion focused on several complex areas, including risk perception, mitigating overdiagnosis and building a robust evidence base.

If you're working on an AI diagnostic technology that needs a strong evidence framework, contact us to find out more about our services.

Meet the team: Robert Malcolm

Understanding the value and impact of new healthcare interventions is increasingly important in today’s rapidly developing landscape. For those considering a career at the intersection of economics, public health, and emerging technologies, the pathways and opportunities are both varied and rewarding.

We sat down with YHEC Project Director Robert Malcolm to discuss his professional journey from academic study in economics to a specialist role in health economics. He reflects on the breadth of his current work, which includes the evaluation of digital health innovations, Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications, population health initiatives, and considerations of equity in healthcare decision-making. Robert also offers perspectives on working across academic and industry settings, highlighting the importance and responsibility of informing evidence-based policy and practice.

Read more about Robert’s career path, professional insights, and what continues to motivate his work in this field.

Introducing the YHEC Resource Hub

We are pleased to share the launch of the YHEC Resource Hub, a central space designed to support those working in health economics and evidence synthesis. The hub brings together sample economic models with worked examples, a range of publications and blog pieces, recorded webinars and expert discussions. It is also the new home of the YHEC glossary of key terminology.

It has been developed to assist researchers, analysts, and policy decision-makers in accessing reliable, practical materials to inform rigorous and transparent methods.

Explore the Hub.

YHEC goes from strength to strength

YHEC has continued to expand its team, welcoming nine new colleagues in October. Michelle Maden and Tom Macmillan join as Project Directors in Reviews and Evidence Synthesis, bringing extensive experience in leading complex evidence generation projects. They are joined by Senior Research Consultant, Charlotte Ahmadu.

We are also pleased to welcome Emre Dixon, Madison Montgomery, Rebecca Rosi and Elisha Witcomb, who take up roles as Research Consultants. In addition, Sephy Nuttall and Emilia Rivett-Jones join the organisation as Research Assistants, supporting research activity across ongoing projects.

These appointments reflect YHEC’s continued commitment to building a highly skilled, multidisciplinary team to support rigorous analysis in health economics and evidence synthesis.

Find out more about our team.

BMC Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation

YHEC's experts have published two papers in BMC Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation.

Sam Harper and Stuart Mealing have co-authored a study assessing the cost-effectiveness of RefluxStop, an innovative implant for managing persistent gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), compared with proton pump inhibitors and Nissen fundoplication. Using a Markov model adapted from UK analyses, the research found that RefluxStop is highly likely to be cost-effective relative to standard medical and surgical management in Norway. The paper is one of a series of articles exploring the use of RefluxStop in different European contexts.

Amy Dymond and Will Green are co-authors of a publication which evaluates the economic impact of increasing self-care with ibuprofen for three common conditions: dysmenorrhoea, migraine and acute rhinosinusitis.  Findings suggest that a 5% increase in self-care could prevent over 400,000 healthcare appointments in the UK each year, freeing up NHS capacity and reducing lost work and school days. This has the potential to produce cost savings for the NHS.

Read both papers via our website.

International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care

A new article, co-authored by YHEC Senior Research Consultant Melissa Pegg, has been published in the International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care.

The paper highlights a multistakeholder initiative led by the international working group for Environmental Sustainability in HTA (ESHTA), which aims to integrate environmental impact alongside traditional HTA dimensions such as cost and clinical effectiveness.

Read more.

Frontiers in Public Health

A new systematic review and meta-analysis co-authored by YHEC’s Mary Chappell, Rachael McCool, Katie Reddish, Paul Miller, Erin Barker and Harriet Fewster examines the real-world effectiveness of nirsevimab for preventing respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) lower respiratory tract infections in infants.

Drawing on data from more than 140,000 infants across Spain, Italy, the US and France, the review found that nirsevimab reduces RSV-related hospitalisations, intensive care admissions and the need for ventilatory support. The findings provide real-world evidence that nirsevimab is an effective intervention with potential public health benefits.

Read the full article.

PharmacoEconomics

A new article in PharmacoEconomics reports findings on the cost effectiveness of efanesoctocog alfa compared with extended half-life factor VIII prophylaxis for adolescents and adults with haemophilia A in the United States.

Co-authored by Amy Dymond and Will Green, the study uses a lifetime Markov model to compare clinical and economic outcomes. The analysis indicates that efanesoctocog alfa may be a dominant option, associated with fewer bleeds, improved quality-adjusted life-years and lower total direct costs relative to extended half-life factor VIII regimens. Sensitivity and scenario analyses consistently supported the robustness of these findings.

Read more.

Join our team

Did you know YHEC is officially an Investors in People Gold accredited organisation? With a dynamic, multidisciplinary team, 97% of our staff agree YHEC is a great place to work.

We are always keen to hear from talented modellers, information specialists, and systematic reviewers with at least 2 years of experience, in addition to our advertised health economics roles.

Check out our careers page, and subscribe to our mailing list to stay up-to-date with job opportunities.