Table 1.

HIQA reference case for economic evaluation in Ireland [6]

Element of the technology assessment	Reference case
Evaluation type	Cost-utility analysis
Perspective on costs	Publicly funded health and social care system in Ireland
Perspective on outcomes	All health benefits accruing to individuals
Choice of comparator	Routine care in Ireland
Synthesis of effectiveness	Based on systematic review
Outcome measurement	Quality-adjusted life-years
Discount rate	Annual rate of 5% on costs and outcomes after the first yeara
Sensitivity analysis	Probabilistic and sensitivity analysis
Equity rating	Equal rating should be applied to the outcome measure

HIQA Health Information and Quality Authority

^aSince July 2019, the discount rate in Ireland was lowered to 4% on both costs and outcomes [52]