The Vienna Winter School on pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement policies took place from 18-21 February 2025 at the Austrian National Public Health Institute (Gesundheit Österreich GmbH). It was the seventh School organised by the Pharmacoeconomics Department and brought together 31 participants from public pricing and reimbursement authorities in 15 countries.
The participants spent four days working on current challenges in pharmaceutical policy. They received bespoke training by the experts in our department on different aspects of pricing and reimbursement such as the assessment of price data sources, and methods for price calculations in the pharmaceutical supply chain.
The School’s discussions were marked by a distinct wish to learn from each other, and to find solutions to similar problems. Challenges included the uncertainty or lack of clinical effectiveness data for some of the new high-priced medicines entering the market, the challenges of making reimbursement decisions for these medicines, as well as pharmaceutical price intransparency. In a round of policy pitches, participants developed potential solutions to these and other policy issues. One of the highlights of the School were study visits to three key Austrian healthcare institutions: The Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection, the Austrian Social Insurance, and the hospital pharmacy of the Klinik Favoriten.
We are happy that the Vienna Winter School provided an opportunity to bring experts together, and we look forward to organising similar training courses in the future.
Photo credit: GÖG