gms | German Medical Science

10. Deutscher Kongress für Versorgungsforschung, 18. GAA-Jahrestagung

Deutsches Netzwerk Versorgungsforschung e. V.
Gesellschaft für Arzneimittelanwendungsforschung und Arzneimittelepidemiologie e. V.

20.-22.10.2011, Köln

Welcome

Dear Colleagues,

The German Network for Health Services Research (Deutsches Netzwerk Versorgungsforschung DNVF) and the Society for Drug Utilization Research and Drug Epidemiology (Gesellschaft für Arzneimittelanwendungsforschung und Arzneimittelepidemiologie GAA) have jointly organized the 10th Congress for Health Services Research (Deutscher Kongresses für Versorgungsforschung DKVF).

The objectives/aims of the congress are threefold: The first aim is to present the topic „drug supply: quality and efficacy“ considering all relevant aspects, including political and structural factors. The focus will be on those issues which are currently most debated:

(1) The evaluation of utility of new drugs and its methodology,
(2) The problem of polypharmacy in multimorbid and elderly patients, particularly the problem of ‘how to avoid inappropriate medications and keep adherence?’ will be addressed, and
(3) Personalized medicine, which probably might better be named „individualized“or „stratified“ medicine.

The purpose of the congress is, not only to present and discuss each of the above mentioned topics, but also to show the interference between these issues, e.g. avoiding side effects in elderly patient using principles of individualized therapy.

The second aim is to offer a platform of scientific exchange for all those involved in Health Supply Research, by presenting and discussing their research projects and main results. We are pleased that a number of considerable speakers and discussants could be enlisted for this congress, and we have received over 250 abstracts, which have been accepted as either oral presentations or posters, and some of the member societies of the DNVF have organized theme-oriented sessions.

The third aim of this 10th congress is to give a review over the past 10 years of Health Services Research in Germany and to make a projection of the future aims of this discipline. Every day of the congress, one extra session has been scheduled to address this aspect.

On behalf of the Organizing Committee

Sebastian Harder and Holger Pfaff

Scientific Program