Theoretical Foundation of Patient v. Population Preferences in Calculating QALYs

Afschin Gandjour
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Afschin Gandjour: Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, afschin.gandjour@pbrc.edu, The James A. Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University, Houston, Texas, Institute of Health Economics and Clinical Epidemiology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

Medical Decision Making, 2010, vol. 30, issue 4, E57-E63

Abstract: The cost-effectiveness of health care interventions is often evaluated using quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) as a measure of outcome. There is a debate on whether QALYs should use patient preferences as opposed to community preferences. This article shows that patient preferences have a theoretical foundation in preference-utilitarian theory and welfare economics. In contrast, this study found no compelling theoretical basis for community preferences. There is a need for further development of a normative framework to inform the choice of preference source.

Keywords: cost-effectiveness analysis; community preferences; patient preferences. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:medema:v:30:y:2010:i:4:p:e57-e63

DOI: 10.1177/0272989X10370488

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