Table 2.
Input data to illustrate the approaches to value opportunity costs
| Occupancy rate | 1.0a | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost‐effectiveness threshold (£) | 20,000/QALY | ||
| Patient(s) | P1 | P2 | P3 |
| Units (bed‐days per patient) | 10b | 5 | 5 |
| Expenditure (£ per patient) | 7,000 (variable: 3,500) | 5,000 | 5,000 |
| Benefit (£ revenue per patient) | 9,000 | 6,000 | 5,500 |
| Benefit (QALY gain per patient)c | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.4 |
Note that all values are illustrative. Based on the highest (net) benefit expressed either monetarily or in QALYs, patient P1 is the optimally chosen patient i, patient P2 is the second‐best patient j, and patient P3 is the third‐best patient.
QALY = quality‐adjusted life year.
a
Assumes full capacity and that freed beds are efficiently redeployed (Drummond et al., 2005),
b
Excess consumption (not necessarily the total length of stay),
c
Attributable to the treatment.