What are health utilities ?

G Measuring health utilities involves two main steps: defining a set of health states of interest, and valuing those health states. There are direct or indirect methods of utility valuation. G The methods that have been used to collect data on utilities include the standard gamble approach, the time trade-off approach and the visual analogue approach. G The main indirect methods of utility measurement are: the use of generic preference instruments (EQ-5D, SF-6D and HUI); the use of disease-specific preference measures; and mapping from a disease-specific health-related quality of life instrument to a generic instrument. G Generic preference-based measures are increasingly being used in cost–utility analyses of pharmaceutical and other healthcare interventions. In the UK, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has specified the EQ-5D as its preferred method of utility measurement. G Utilities have been used as the preference weights (quality levels) within the quality-adjusted life-year model – an increasingly popular outcome measure used in pharmaceutical market access decision-making.