SAGE Reference - Encyclopedia of Medical Decision Making

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Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs)

In: Encyclopedia of Medical Decision Making
Edited by: Michael W. Kattan
Subject:Medical Decision Making
Keywords:quality of life; quality-adjusted life years

The quality-adjusted life year (QALY) is a measure of the value of health outcomes. A QALY takes into account both the quantity (survival) and the quality of life generated by healthcare interventions and allows decision makers to compare diverse health interventions using a common measure.

What is a Quality-Adjusted Life Year?

One of the problems faced by decision makers is how to compare health interventions across diseases and with different health outcomes for priority setting in healthcare. A QALY-like concept was first proposed by Herbert Klarman in 1968 in a study of chronic kidney disease that estimated that quality of life was 25% better with transplant compared with dialysis. The method and premise was further developed in the 1970s, with the term quality-adjusted life year and QALY ...

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  Kattan, M. W. (2009). Quality-adjusted life years (qalys). In Encyclopedia of medical decision making (Vol. 1, pp. 933-935). SAGE Publications, Inc., https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412971980.n271
  
  Kattan, Michael W. "Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs)." In Encyclopedia of Medical Decision Making, edited by Kattan, Michael W., 933-35. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2009. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412971980.n271.
  
  Kattan, M. W. 2009. Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs). In: Michael W. Kattan Editor, 2009. Encyclopedia of Medical Decision Making, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. pp. 933-935 Available at: <https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412971980.n271> [Accessed 25 May 2022].
  
  Kattan, Michael W. "Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs)." Encyclopedia of Medical Decision Making. Edited by Vol. 1. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2009, pp. 933-35. SAGE Knowledge. 25 May 2022, doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412971980.n271.
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What is a Quality-Adjusted Life Year?

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