What methods are typically used in health economic evaluation?

  1. Cost-effectiveness analysis
  2. Cost-utility analysis
  3. Cost-benefit analysis
  4. Cost-minimization analysis
  5. Cost-of-illness analysis

The most common analysis is the cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis. "Cost-utility" is the recommended analysis method and uses QALYs (quality-adjusted life years) as the effect measure. Commonly included data for a cost-utility analysis, include: direct and indirect costs, probability rates of moving from and/or between health states, adverse events (risk ratios), QALYs or other health effect data. From the data, the ICER (Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio) can be calculated.