Although there is no ‘gold standard’ for priority-setting methodology, it is generally agreed that the process should be systematic, explicit, fair and evidence-based.
The Assessing Cost-Effectiveness (ACE) approach was adopted – characterised by the use of consistent, rigorous methods for the technical cost-effectiveness analyses (including extensive uncertainty analyses), alongside qualitative analyses of key implementation considerations relevant to policy decisions (strength of evidence, equity, acceptability, feasibility, and sustainability).
The modelling of expected health benefits and related costs in response to an intervention was based on a previously developed proportional, multi-state, life table Markov model.