Economic evaluations

Understanding Economic Evaluations

When deciding between different medical interventions, such as new medications or diagnostic tests, healthcare systems need to know which option represents the most efficient use of limited resources. Economic evaluations measure both the costs and the benefits of competing options.

• Costs represent the opportunity cost: the benefit lost by choosing one treatment and missing out on what those resources could have achieved elsewhere.
• Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA) is the most widely used type of economic evaluation, measuring benefits in natural units (e.g., cases detected, life-years gained, or Quality-Adjusted Life-Years [QALYs]). When QALYs are specifically used, the approach is often called Cost-Utility Analysis (CUA).
• The Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER) is the standard way to estimate efficiency. It is calculated by dividing the difference in cost between two interventions by the difference in their effects
• Decision Analytic Models (DAMs) are mathematical frameworks used to integrate data on efficacy, safety, quality of life and cost, typically projecting outcomes over a patient’s lifetime.

Our experience

Our multidisciplinary team of health economists, systematic reviewers and information specialists brings deep expertise in designing DAMs, conducting systematic reviews, and performing meta-analysis.

• Proven Track Record: 15 years experience of critically appraising and developing economic models as an Evidence Review Group for NICE Technology Appraisals.
• Diverse Therapeutic Areas: We have successfully completed CEAs across a broad range of specialties, including:
• • Cystic fibrosis
  • Benign prostatic enlargement
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Anaphylaxis
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease