TSD 15: Cost-effectiveness modelling using patient-level simulation
Moller J, Davis S, Stevenson M, Cairo J. (2017). Validation of a DICE Simulation Against a Discrete Event Simulation Implemented Entirely in Code. Pharmacoeconomics
- Appendix A: Visual basic code for discrete event simulation example model
- Appendix B: R code for DES example model
- Appendix C: Simul8 documentation
- Code for Excel
- Code for R
- Code for Simul8
- Code for TreeAge
- Code for DICE version
To download all the documents above in one zip file, click here.
Economic models can use either a patient-level or cohort-level modelling approach to estimate the expected costs and outcomes across a particular population. In a patient-level simulation, the outcomes are modelled for individual patients and then the average is taken across a sufficiently large sample of patients, whilst in a cohort-level model the outcomes are estimated for the cohort as a whole, without considering the outcomes for individual patients within that cohort.
The aims of this Technical Support Document (TSD) on patient-level simulation are to:
- Increase awareness of patient-level modelling approaches and highlight the key differences between patient-level and cohort-level modelling approaches
- Provide guidance on situations in which patient-level modelling approaches may be preferable to cohort-level modelling approaches
- Provide a description of how to implement a patient-level simulation using either a patient-level state-transition or discrete event simulation (DES) framework in a variety of software environments (Microsoft Excel®, R, TreeAge Pro®).
- Provide example models illustrating how to implement a simple cost-effectiveness model using a patient-level approach. The example models cover both DES (R, Visual Basic module within Microsoft Excel®, TreeAge Pro®) and patient-level state-transition (Microsoft Excel® and TreeAge Pro®) frameworks.
- Provide guidance on good practice when developing and reporting a patient-level simulation to inform a NICE TA.
The focus of this document is on the application of patient-level simulation to systems where patients can be assumed to be independent as systems incorporating patient interaction are not a common feature with Technology Appraisal.