As our planet is with limited resources, health services to be provided must be prioritized​

Compounding the problem, all resources in this world are limited. To illustrate skilled healthcare workers. Last year, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO has revealed that event though the global health workforce grew by 29% (to approximately 65 million people) between 2016 and 2022, projections for 2030 indicate a potential shortfall of 10 million workers.

Meanwhile, global illness rates are rising, but countries cannot provide immediate, comprehensive healthcare to all patients. As a result, prioritising services or patients are essenrtial. This process, known as “health priority setting,” is a critical challenge for all nations, even those with Universal Health Coverage.

The International Society for Priorities in Health (ISPH) is a network of healthcare researchers, workers, and policymakers – along with professionals in public health, economics, administration, and social science – who contribute to health priority settings. Founded in 1996, ISPH established the “Priorities Conference” to address this critical topic.

To provide a platform for researchers, interested individuals, and policymakers who work on health priority setting to discuss methods, processes, and research that can lead to better outcomes. While the first conference was held in Stockholm, Sweden, subsequent events have been hosted in various countries. 

Notably, the 14th Priorities Conference marks a significant shift. It is the first time the conference will be held in a lower-middle-income country, “Thailand”, hosted by the Health Intervention Technology Assessment Program (HITAP), an organization under the Ministry of Health. 

With the expertise in Health Technology Assessment (HTA) – a crucial tool for health prioritization and experience in organizing international conferences like HTAsiaLink Conferences, a conference by network of HTA bodies from over 20 countries with similar in format to the Priorities Conference, HITAP demonstrates capabilities in successfully managing academic conferences.

The conference components range from interesting panel discussions by international experts and presentations of research and intriguing workshops on health priority setting. Under the theme, “Shaping the Future of Health Prioritization: Strategies for Sustainable Solutions”, there will be in-depth discussions on various topics related to health priority setting, such as the usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and real-world evidence in health priority setting, early Health Technology Assessment (HTA), balancing between efficiency and fairness, the impact of the healthcare sector on the environment, and priority setting in crisis situations.

This is an undeniable opportunity for researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders involved in health priority setting throughout Thailand and Asia, as well as low- and middle-income countries worldwide. The Priorities 2024 Conference offers a chance to access an international event without the higher travel and accommodation costs often associated with conferences held in high-income countries.