13th ICHPS Sold Out in San Diego

Kate Crespi, Ofer Harel, ICHPS 2020 Co-Chairs

The 13th International Conference on Health Policy Statistics was host to a sold-out crowd—with more than 350 statisticians, methodologists, and health policy experts—January 6–8 at the Wyndham San Diego Bayside in San Diego, California.

ICHPS is held every two years and is the flagship conference of the Health Policy Statistics Section (HPSS) of the ASA. Conference co-chairs Catherine (Kate) Crespi from the University of California at Los Angeles and Ofer Harel from the University of Connecticut were supported by organizing committees with more than 30 members hailing from academic centers, government organizations, and pharmaceutical and medical devices companies.

The theme, “Leveraging Data to Shape the Future,” emphasized the key role of statistics and data science in developing evidence that shapes the future of health care, health outcomes, and health policy. Eleven workshops and 26 themed sessions over three days addressed such topics as causal inference for observational data, measurement of the quality of health care, evaluating disparities, conducting research using electronic medical records, and using machine learning and artificial intelligence in health research. Several invited sessions addressed the pressing societal issues of gun violence and the opioid addiction crisis.

Daniel Polsky of The Johns Hopkins University gave the opening keynote address, titled “Closing the Gap Between Research and Policy,” while Susan Murphy of Harvard University gave the closing keynote address, “Online Experimentation and Learning Algorithms in a Clinical Trial.”

Workshop topics included deep learning, stepped wedge trials, utilizing nonprobability samples in survey analysis, causal inference methods, and social network analysis. A communication skills workshop was conducted by COMPASS, a nonprofit, nonadvocacy organization with a vision to see more scientists engage effectively in public discourse. Networking dinners and meet-ups afforded opportunities to mingle in a relaxed environment while enjoying San Diego’s delicious food in its highly walkable and entertaining Little Italy section of town. Student attendees were hosted at a special networking lunch.

ICHPS is committed to disseminating the conference proceedings. Many conference presenters have shared their presentations online under the online program. A peer-reviewed special issue of conference papers will be published in Health Services and Outcomes Research Methodology.

At the close of the conference, the Health Policy Statistics Section conferred its most important awards. HPSS presented the Long-Term Excellence Award to Tom Belin (UCLA) and mid-career awards to Rebecca Hubbard (University of Pennsylvania) and Sherri Rose (Harvard Medical School). ICHPS also provided 17 student travel awards.

Planning is underway for the 14th ICHPS. For more information, contact conference chairs Ruth Etzioni and Mike Baiocchi.