Social Impact

How is a patient’s quality of life improved when an effective treatment becomes available? What does this mean those who devote time providing care? And what are the outcomes for society? Social Impact shows the relevance of health to society by measuring the range of benefits produced by healthcare interventions and medical innovations. It offers a transformative perspective on understanding how health affects the economy, society, and, most importantly, the quality of people’s lives.

Our health economics research strives to achieve health for all, in the process improving lives, driving resilient economic growth, and sparking innovation. The Social Impact model illustrates the role of medical innovations in building healthier and more productive lives. Our mission is to make the value of interventions in healthcare measurable by providing valid data and scientific analysis. The result: better informed decision-making in business and politics with a focus on global sustainable development.

How is Social Impact measured?

The Social Impact model measures the value medical innovations and health interventions have for society. Medical innovations range from the development of a new drug or vaccine to innovation in preventative care measures. The approach can include performed both high-level analyses on a global scale and a deep dive into specific interventions.

To measure the Social Impact of a medical innovation, WifOR first quantifies the degree to which a patient is burdened by a disease and to what extent the innovation reduces the impairment. To this end, indicators such as patient-reported outcomes (PRO) from Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI) questionnaires are used. In a second step, WifOR calculates the resulting productivity gains from both paid and unpaid work. These values are adjusted to the average age and gender distribution of the patient population. In a final step, WifOR monetizes the avoided time loss. Based on the premise that the ability to perform paid and unpaid work is an indicator of a society’s welfare, the effects caused by the medical innovation are interpreted as a welfare gain. WifOR monetizes this welfare gain as Gross Value Added (GVA) per hour.

Social Impact: WifOR’s Approach

What does WifOR’s Social Impact model offer organizations and industries?

The Social Impact model offers a range of benefits to companies, ministries, or NGOs. These benefits include:

Measuring and identifying the value medical innovations have for society and the economy
Creating awareness for the socioeconomic value of healthcare interventions amongst stakeholders throughout society
Enhancing communication with internal and external stakeholders based on scientific research
Receiving actionable insights into contributions towards political targets, such as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals