Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: Health technology assessment (HTA) bodies and reimbursement decision-makers increasingly recognize patient-preference evidence in the evaluation healthcare interventions. However, practical approaches for incorporating patient-preference evidence into health economic evaluations remain limited. This study aimed to develop a framework for integrating discrete choice experiment (DCE) evidence into economic models to support patient-centered value assessment and healthcare decision-making.
METHODS: A targeted review of methodological literature, HTA guidance, and published economic evaluations incorporating patient-preference evidence was conducted from 2021 to present. Findings were synthesized to identify pathways through which DCE-derived estimates can inform model structure, inputs, assumptions, and interpretation. Applications were mapped across treatment uptake, adherence, persistence, utility estimation, and preference-sensitive outcomes. Key considerations included attribute selection, conceptual alignment, heterogeneity, uncertainty, and external validity.
RESULTS: The framework identified four pathways for incorporating DCE evidence into health economic evaluations: (1) informing utility estimation through preference-based weighting or valuation; (2) quantifying the influence of treatment attributes on adherence and persistence assumptions; (3) estimating uptake and patient choice under alternative intervention scenarios; and (4) generating preference-informed value metrics to complement conventional cost-effectiveness outcome measures. Implementation requires alignment between DCE attributes and model parameters, characterization of heterogeneity through subgroup or latent-class analyses, and incorporation of uncertainty in deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses. The framework can support early economic modeling, evidence-generation planning, and value-demonstration activities.
CONCLUSIONS: DCE evidence provides a transparent, rigorous approach for quantifying patient preferences and strengthening health economic evaluations beyond traditional health-related quality-of-life inputs. This framework offers a practical pathway for translating patient-preference evidence into economic models, supporting patient-centered value assessment for HTA, reimbursement, and healthcare decision-making. By clarifying how patient-preference evidence can inform assumptions, outcomes, and interpretation, the framework can advance routine use of patient-centered evidence in value assessment and policy decisions.