The transferability of economic evaluations:testing the model of Welte

One of the existing methods to assess the transferability of economic evaluations is the model of Welte, which is a decision-chart method that includes general and specific knockout criteria and a transferability checklist. This study aims to test Welte's model with the help of a case study.

In this study, foreign studies were transferred to The Netherlands and then compared with a Dutch reference study. In the case study, the cost-effectiveness of physiotherapy was compared with a multidisciplinary treatment. With the help of a systematic search, several foreign studies could be identified. Based on these foreign studies, two different predictions were produced for The Netherlands. In the “all studies prediction,” all foreign studies were used. In the “Welte's model prediction,” only the foreign studies were used, which passed the general and specific knockout criteria. Both predictions were compared with the Dutch reference case.

A total of 14 non-Dutch studies were identified. Seven studies did not pass the general knockout criteria and one study did not pass the specific knockout criteria. As a result, 14 studies were included in the “all studies prediction” and 6 studies in the “Welte's model prediction.” The predictions yielded different results and the “Welte's model prediction” proved better on costs than the “all studies prediction.”

The application of Welte's model does influence cost and effects estimates when transferring economic data between countries. However, more cases should be subjected to the Welte transferability model before a final conclusion can be drawn.