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The Zero-Condition: A Simplifying Assumption in QALY Measurement and Multiattribute Utility

Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195
Department of Medical Decision Making, LUMC 1 K6-R, Leiden University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9600, Leiden 2300 RC, The Netherlands
iMTA, Erasmus University, P.O. Box 1738, Rotterdam, 3000 DR, The Netherlands
Department of Quantitative Economics, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, Maastricht, 6200 MD, The Netherlands

This paper studies the implications of the "zero-condition" for multiattribute utility theory. The zero-condition simplifies the measurement and derivation of the Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY) measure commonly used in medical decision analysis. For general multiattribute utility theory, no simple condition has heretofore been found to characterize multiplicatively decomposable forms. When the zero-condition is satisfied, however, such a simple condition, "standard gamble invariance," becomes available.

Key Words: QALY; Multiattribute Utility; Utility Independence

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