Economics, health and health economics: HYEs versus QALYs

Amiram Gafni, Stephen Birch, Abraham Mehrez

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This paper responds to Culyer and Wagstaff's (CW) and Buckingham's (B) arguments. We refute their claim about the equivalence of HYEs and QALYs; they fail to distinguish between choice under uncertainty and under certainty CW assume that all individuals have a specific form of utility function, which yields their conclusion of equivalence. B's arguments confuse the measurement technique and the utility theory from which it stems; his argument about the normative superiority of the QALY construct is inconsistent with economic thinking. The HYE, by being compatible with the principles of economics, is superior to the QALY for economic evaluations of health care interventions.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)325-339
Number of pages15
JournalJournal of Health Economics
Volume12
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 1993

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