Quality-Adjusted Life Year: Difference between revisions
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QALYs can also be used to compare the health benefit of a new treatment for one condition with the health benefit of a new treatment for a different condition<ref>Pieto L and Sacristan JA. Problems and solutions in calculating quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). HEalth Qual Life Outcomes, 2003; 1:80</ref>. For instance, the QALY permits comparison of a new cancer therapy with the health effect of a new Parkinsons medication. | QALYs can also be used to compare the health benefit of a new treatment for one condition with the health benefit of a new treatment for a different condition<ref>Pieto L and Sacristan JA. Problems and solutions in calculating quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). HEalth Qual Life Outcomes, 2003; 1:80</ref>. For instance, the QALY permits comparison of a new cancer therapy with the health effect of a new Parkinsons medication. | ||
QALYs can also be used to evaluate the cost effectiveness of a treatment, that is how much the drug or treatment costs per QALY. This is the cost of prescribing a drug to provide 1 year of the best quality of life available, and it is expressed as "£ per QALY" or "$ per QALY" etc. | QALYs can also be used to evaluate the cost effectiveness of a treatment, that is how much the drug or treatment costs per QALY. This is the cost of prescribing a drug to provide 1 year of the best quality of life available, and it is expressed as "£ per QALY" or "$ per QALY" etc. | ||
The Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL) value used in the QALY calculation is not linked to any particular disease, and it takes into account 5 dimensions: | |||
#mobility | |||
#pain/discomfort | |||
#self-care | |||
#anxiety-depression | |||
#usual activities | |||
Thus QALY estimates are able to integrate both psycho-social and biomedical aspects of the burden of a disease. | |||
== Limitations of QALYs == | == Limitations of QALYs == |
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Introduction & Definition[edit | edit source]
The Quality-Adjusted Life Year (QALY) is a measure of the value and benefit of health outcomes.
Health is definied as a function of two components:
1. length of life - ie. mortality
2. quality of life - ie. morbidity
The QALY is an attempt to combine these two attributes into a single figure/number[1].
QALY gives an idea of how many extra months or years of life of a reasonable quality a person might gain as a result of treatment (particularly important when considering treatments for chronic conditions).
Calculation of QALY[edit | edit source]
To calculate the QALY, the following formula can be used; this assumes a utility value (quality of life) between 1 = perfect health and 0 = dead.
This results in the following:
1. If an individual has perfect health for a period of 1 year, they will be said to have 1 QALY.
ie. 1 YEar of Life x 1 Utility Value = 1 QALY
2. If an individual lives in perfect health but only for half a year, that individual will have 0.5 WALY.
ie. 0.5 Years of Life x 1 Utility Value = 0.5 QALY
3. If an inidividual lives for 1 year in a situation with 0.5 utility (half of perfect health) that individual will have 0.5 QALY
ie. 1 Year of Life x 0.5 Utility Value = 0.5 QALY
Function/Uses of QALYs[edit | edit source]
QALYs are used to quantify the effectiveness of a new treatment (eg. new medication) compared to the current treatment for a particular condition.
QALYs can also be used to compare the health benefit of a new treatment for one condition with the health benefit of a new treatment for a different condition[2]. For instance, the QALY permits comparison of a new cancer therapy with the health effect of a new Parkinsons medication.
QALYs can also be used to evaluate the cost effectiveness of a treatment, that is how much the drug or treatment costs per QALY. This is the cost of prescribing a drug to provide 1 year of the best quality of life available, and it is expressed as "£ per QALY" or "$ per QALY" etc.
The Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL) value used in the QALY calculation is not linked to any particular disease, and it takes into account 5 dimensions:
- mobility
- pain/discomfort
- self-care
- anxiety-depression
- usual activities
Thus QALY estimates are able to integrate both psycho-social and biomedical aspects of the burden of a disease.
Limitations of QALYs[edit | edit source]
Recent Related Research (from Pubmed)[edit | edit source]
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References[edit | edit source]
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