Letter to the Editor Volume 7 • Number 1 • 2004 V A L U E I N H E A L T H © ISPOR 1098-3015/04/$15.00/105 105–106 105 Blackwell Science, LtdOxford, UKVHEValue in Health1098-30152004 ISPORJanuary/February 200471105106Letter to the EditorLetter to the EditorLetter to the Editor Letter to the Editor To the Editor—As part of the ISPOR Education Steering Committee, the ISPOR Fellowship Task Force was formed in the spring of 2000. The Task Force’s mission is to define the fundamentals of a core curriculum for pharmacoeconomic and out- comes research (PE/OR) fellowships, as well as to foster knowledge of these programs among students of various scientific and professional backgrounds. As a result, in 2001 the Task Force began a research study to provide insight into the characteristics and components of the PE/OR fellowship programs. The results of this study have recently been described in two articles published in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education [1,2]. A brief description of the main research findings is presented. PE/OR fellowship programs have been in exist- ence in the United States for more than a decade. With the increasing number of programs, however, it has become difficult to quantify the exact number of programs offered, and little is known about how these programs are structured [3]. The objectives of the study conducted by the ISPOR Fellowship Task Force were: 1) to describe the organizational structures and educational compo- nents of PE/OR fellowship programs within the United States and 2) to determine the extent to which these programs adhere to the 1999 Ameri- can College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) PE fel- lowships guidelines. From November 2001 through December 2001, the Task Force conducted a cross-sectional, Web- based survey via the ISPOR Web site. The survey population consisted of fellows as well as precep- tors involved in a PE/OR fellowship, who were identified by collecting information through differ- ent sources including the ACCP and ISPOR direc- tories for these programs. The Task Force developed a set of three questionnaires, which were adminis- tered, respectively, to current fellows enrolled in a fellowship, to fellows who had finished a fellow- ship, and to preceptors currently involved in a fel- lowship. Of the 151 individuals completing the survey, 33 current fellows, 38 former fellows, and 38 preceptors met the inclusion criteria. According to fellows and preceptors’ responses, the results of the study revealed that PE/OR fellow- ships have numerous similarities in terms of their general characteristics, as well as their organiza- tional and educational aspects [1,2]. Therefore, a common profile for these programs can be described as shown in Table 1. With a program 2 years in length, sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry, and conducted predominantly in academic and pharmaceutical industry sites, PE/OR fellow- ships reportedly provide trainees with adequate resources to carry out scientific research [2]. In addition, programs offer applicants exposure to a variety of types of research design and analysis to enhance their knowledge about PE/OR. According to preceptors’ opinions, current PE/ OR fellowships appear to adhere to the 1999 ACCP guidelines [1]. In particular, preceptors reported that programs show significant compli- ance with the main aspects of the guidelines, which define both the structure and the process of fellowships. Few preceptors, however, indi- cated that their programs currently offer trainees hands-on research activities at the level suggested by these guidelines. In conclusion, as an initiative of the IPSOR Fellowship Task Force, this is the first study to describe the current state of PE/OR fellowship programs in the United States. The results of these investigations provide substantial insight to institutions and organizations wishing to develop new or refine existing PE/OR fellowship pro- grams.—Vittorio Maio, PharmD, MS, Office of Health Policy, Clinical Outcomes, Thomas Jeffer- son University. Table 1 Common profile of a US-based pharmacoeco- nomic/outcomes research fellowship program based on fel- lows and preceptors’ responses* Organizational features 1. Two-year program. 2. Sponsored by pharmaceutical industry. 3. Conducted primarily in academic and pharmaceutical industry sites. 4. Available facilities, including medical library, computer center, medical database 5. Average fellow’s salary: US$30,000– US$40,000 (year 2001). Educational features 6. Skills taught, including economic analysis and methodologies, as well as research design and methods. 7. Software applications, including SAS and Access. 8. Exposure to PE/OR design and analysis. 9. Research skills, including the conceptualization, operationalization, data management, and application of research projects. *Adapted from Maio et al. [1,2]. CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Elsevier - Publisher Connector https://core.ac.uk/display/81166301?utm_source=pdf&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=pdf-decoration-v1 Letter to the Editor106 References 1 Maio V, Lofland JH, Nash DB. Pharmacoeconomic fellowships. preceptors’ views regarding adherence to the American College of Clinical Pharmacy guide- lines. Am J Pharm Educ 2003;67:Article 75. 2 Maio V, Lofland JH, Doan QC, et al. Organiza- tional structure and educational components of pharmacoeconomic fellowship programs: a fellows’ perspective. Am J Pharm Educ 2003;67:Article 105. 3 Maio V, Girts TK, Lofland JH, Nash DB. Pharmacoeconomic fellowships: the need for out- comes measures. Pharmacoeconomics 2001;19: 795–802.