Updated ISPOR HEOR competencies framework outlines skills for a changing evidence landscape

ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research, has announced the availability of an updated Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR) Competencies Framework intended to provide a structured reference for career development, curriculum design, and organizational workforce planning in a field that has expanded in scope and methods.

ISPOR links the update to the evolution of HEOR over the past two decades, stating that “the field of health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) has grown substantially in the past 20 years” and that, given the discipline’s “dynamic nature” and external influences on healthcare decisions, there is a need to provide guidance to professionals so they have the tools “to create, implement, and evaluate the different aspects of HEOR.” The society also states that the framework “promotes research excellence by outlining a comprehensive list of knowledge and skills important and relevant for HEOR professionals,” and that it indicates “both technical and soft skills are necessary for professionals to be capable of improving healthcare decision making.”

The 13 competency domains outlined by ISPOR

1. Business management – capabilities linked to operating in healthcare markets, including topics such as business acumen, pricing, reimbursement and access, marketing and market research, business operations, and vendor management.
2. Career development – skills intended to support progression across settings, including an “orientation towards solutions and success,” and pathways for academia as well as industry, government, and other roles.
3. Clinical outcomes – knowledge related to drug development and clinical/medical expertise to support outcomes-focused research strategies.
4. Communication and influence – competencies spanning cultural awareness and sensitivity, scientific medical writing, presentation development and delivery, executive communications, and teamwork.
5. Economic evaluation – skills across burden of illness analysis, economic analysis alongside trials, and health economic modelling.
6. Epidemiology and public health – competencies including epidemiology and pharmacoepidemiology, as well as pharmacovigilance analyses.
7. Health policy and regulatory – understanding of health policy and the external environment, health insurance fundamentals, and regulatory activity and review.
8. Health service delivery and process of care – competencies relating to customer interactions, payer-level health system expertise, and program evaluation.
9. Health technology assessment (HTA) – skills covering health systems and HTA understanding, evidence requirements and development, product dossiers, and decision analysis.
10. Statistics and data science – data strategy and statistical analysis planning, statistics and analytics, AI and ML, and statistical communication and reporting.
11. Organizational practices – including bioethics and human subjects rights and protections.
12. Patient-centered research – competencies covering diversity, equity and inclusion, patient-reported outcomes development, including psychometrics, utility and quality-of-life studies, and qualitative research.
13. Study approaches – methods spanning clinical trials, pragmatic studies, observational studies and real-world evidence (RWE), including digital health, claims database studies, patient registries, systematic literature reviews, and meta-analysis/indirect comparisons.

Reflecting on the update, ISPOR’s Chief Science Officer Laura Pizzi said:

“Since its initial release in 2020, the ISPOR HEOR Competencies Framework has proven to be an invaluable tool for those interested in gaining HEOR knowledge and skills as well as those who train or hire HEOR professionals.”

Pizzi also noted that “the field of HEOR has become increasingly broad and specialized and is advancing rapidly with respect to methods and their application to health decisions.” A central focus of the update is the strengthening of data-related competencies, including what she described as the “expansion of the competencies related to data-centric aspects of HEOR—statistics, analytics, real world evidence and artificial intelligence,” reflecting the growing role of data science in evidence generation.

The framework was developed through collaboration between the ISPOR Institutional Council and the Faculty Advisor Council, incorporating input from ISPOR members across different backgrounds and areas of expertise. Annesha White (University of North Texas Health Science Center College of Pharmacy) and Soham Shukla (GSK) co-led the workgroup that developed the framework, supported by more than 30 contributors.