PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Trygve Ottersen
TI  - Lifetime QALY prioritarianism in priority setting
AID  - 10.1136/medethics-2012-100740
DP  - 2013 Mar 01
TA  - Journal of Medical Ethics
PG  - 175--180
VI  - 39
IP  - 3
4099  - http://jme.bmj.com/content/39/3/175.short
4100  - http://jme.bmj.com/content/39/3/175.full
SO  - J Med Ethics2013 Mar 01; 39
AB  - Two principles form the basis for much priority setting in health. According to the greater benefit principle, resources should be directed toward the intervention with the greater health benefit. According to the worse off principle, resources should be directed toward the intervention benefiting those initially worse off. Jointly, these principles accord with so-called prioritarianism. Crucial for its operationalisation is the specification of the worse off. In this paper, we examine how the worse off can be defined as those with the fewer lifetime Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs). We contrast this proposal with several alternative specifications.