The utility of a health state is combined
with the time spent in the health state to
calculate the total QALYs lived in that health
state
It is assumed that the utility of a health
state is not affected by previous or subsequent
health states, nor by the amount of time
spent in that health state. This allows the
QALYs to be summed over a profile of health
states to estimate the total QALYs over an
extended period of time – up to a lifetime.