Select one programme
Assume the programmes are mutually exclusive: available resources permit only one.
Counterfactual result
Set the comparison
QALYs displaced = incremental cost ÷ threshold
Incremental net health benefit = QALYs gained − QALYs displaced
Incremental net health benefit = QALYs gained − QALYs displaced
Health consequences
Health gained—
Opportunity cost—
Net health benefit—
QALYs gainedQALYs displacedSelected threshold
Interpretation boundaries
- Opportunity cost is the value of the best feasible alternative forgone, not the sum of every rejected option.
- The difference between the chosen and forgone alternatives is a net comparison, not the opportunity cost itself.
- A threshold-based estimate of health displaced depends on what the threshold represents and how well it applies to the decision setting.
- Financial expenditure, budget impact, QALYs displaced and net health benefit are related but different quantities.
- The examples are synthetic and educational. They are not real programme estimates or funding recommendations.