There is increasing impetus to justify decisions about the inclusion of health technology and services in the public health plans using economic evaluation. This health economic technique assesses the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) which is the comparison of costs and health gains (usually in terms of Quality-Adjusted Life Year or QALY) of one healthcare intervention with another. Although there is still controversy about the decision rule regarding the ICER threshold that will justify the public support for certain health intervention, many public health authorities in Asia have adopted (Korea and Thailand) or express their serious interest (Japan and Malaysia) in the use of economic evaluation for health resource allocation.

In this study, we investigated international research on value for a QALY, especially the recent attempt made in Asia: Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Thailand, i.e. the social value of the QALY across Asian settings. This study also suggests a practical approach in determining the social value of the QALY using household survey across Asia.