Quality Adjusted Life Years and Cochlear Implants

The My Son Tom blog has an interesting discussion of QALY Quality Adjusted Life Years and how that concept impacts the decision of a government health service to pay for unilateral and bilateral cochlear implants.

[QALY] is an attempt to measure the impact of medical interventions on both the quantity and quality of life resulting from said intervention. By throwing into the equation the cost of the interventions, the 'Powers That Decide Such Things' can make informed choices about which procedures to fund and to whom, based on their cost-effectiveness...