Abstract
We test the QALY concept to evaluate the utility of therapies. The QALY is the sum of the duration of each health state a patient faces weighted by the utility the patient obtains from this state. The QALY implies linear utility functions over duration. Corresponding analyses for health-related decisions are problematic as inducing health levels is difficult. In this study, we evaluate both utilities over pain duration for a fixed pain level and over pain intensity for a fixed duration, with real health consequences, using the cold pressor test. We find that, for human decision-makers, utility over pain duration does not increase linearly over time when making health-related decisions. This suggests that the QALY might not capture preferences as intended.
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