For more than 20 years, we have been dedicated to health services research and pharmacoeconomics, in accordance with international standards. The IfEG has managed more than 500 international health care projects which have led to more than 300 publications.

We frequently carry out health care research in cooperation with associations, scientific societies, professional medical organisations, health insurance funds and industry. The results are presented at national or international conferences.

This research is always based on prospective studies. Depending on the research question, these may be any of the following:

• Clinical studies
• Observational studies
• Case control studies
• Registries
• Epidemiological studies
• Burden or cost of illness studies

In the context of pharmacoeconomics or as desk research in medical technology, we prepare Health Technology Assessments (HTA) as benefit or reimbursement dossiers. Of course, this is also a part of early benefit assessment for AMNOG. Prof. Rychlik was an individual expert for AMNOG in the German Parliament and advisor to the CDU party in the legislative procedure.

The necessary modelling may be developed as a Budget Impact Analysis, but more frequently as a cost-effectiveness analysis in the context of the Value Story.

The profile is completed with the secondary data analysis of routine data from selected health insurance funds.

The Institute bears the name “empirical”, as we determine many data empirically and continue to employ naturalistic designs to find out the “true costs in a real world”.