THE USE OF QALY AS AN INTEGRAL MEASURE OF EFFECTIVENESS IN THE EVALUATION OF MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES

Abstract

This report addresses the ways of calculating QALY (Quality-adjusted life-year). OutsideRussia, a standardized methodology to calculate QALY is in use; such an approach makes it possible to apply this universal criterion of effectiveness to the evaluation of new health technologies. Its versatility enables better decision-making on financing the medical treatment within a limited budget. With this algorithm, the financial resources are allocated in such a way as to maximize the levels of QALY. InRussiato date, the use of QALY as a measure of drug effectiveness is not yet possible because of the lack of standardized calculating methods, as well as the absence of uniform tariffs for assessing the medical status of the patient in terms of health utility. Here, we present a number of methods for estimating the health utility, which are used to calculate the QALY, and describe advantages and disadvantages of these methods.

Keywords

• quality-adjusted life-year
• qaly
• quality of life
• utility
• complex approach
• medical technology assessment