The Health Utilities Index (HUI) system is a generic, preference-based measure of health status intended for use in clinical outcomes measurement, in health surveys, in program planning and resource allocation. The utility scores provide a summary index of health-related quality of life on a zero to 1.0 scale; they may be used in cost-utility analyses to calculate quality-adjusted life years an...

BACKGROUND Although increases in obesity over the past 30 years have adversely affected the health of the U.S. population, there have been concomitant improvements in health because of reductions in smoking. Having a better understanding of the joint effects of these trends on longevity and quality of life will facilitate more efficient targeting of health care resources. METHODS For each yea...

OBJECTIVES To determine the net health consequences, costs, and cost-effectiveness of alternative delivery strategies for HIV-infected pregnant women with detectable HIV RNA in the USA. DESIGN Cost-effectiveness analysis using a probabilistic decision model. METHODS The model compared two strategies: elective Cesarean section and vaginal delivery. Data for HIV transmission rate, maternal de...

Recent data from the medical literature and other sources were used in an analysis of the cost-effectiveness of coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) in symptomatic patients. Health effectiveness was expressed as the gain in quality-adjusted life expectancy, allowing for a range of subjective weights attached to symptomatic benefits. Costs included those of surgery, medical management of ...

BACKGROUND The quality-adjusted life year (QALY) is an attractive outcome measure because it captures both health-related quality of life (HRQL) and life expectancy in a single metric. We present a method for calculating QALYs that is simple, utilizes data that are free of charge, and may improve consistency in burden-of-disease investigations. METHODS For purposes of illustration, we calcula...