Criteria and Process for Initiating and Developing an ISPOR Good Practices Task Force Report

Abstract

The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR)’s “Good Practices Task Force” reports are highly cited, multistakeholder perspective expert guidance reports that reflect international standards for health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) and their use in healthcare decision making. In this report, we discuss the criteria, development, and evaluation/consensus review and approval process for initiating a task force. The rationale for a task force must include a justification, including why this good practice guidance is important and its potential impact on the scientific community. The criteria include: (1) necessity (why is this task force required?); (2) a methodology-oriented focus (focus on research methods, approaches, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination); (3) relevance (to ISPOR’s mission and its members); (4) durability over time; (5) broad applicability; and 6) an evidence-based approach. In addition, the proposal must be a priority specifically for ISPOR.These reports are valuable to researchers, academics, students, health technology assessors, medical technology developers and service providers, those working in other commercial entities, regulators, and payers. These stakeholder perspectives are represented in task force membership to ensure the report’s overall usefulness and relevance to the global ISPOR membership. We hope that this discussion will bring transparency to the process of initiating, approving, and producing these task force reports and encourage participation from a diverse range of experts within and outside ISPOR.