A new validation-assessment tool for health-economic decision models

A validation-assessment tool is being developed for decision makers to transparently and consistently evaluate the validation status of different health-economic decision models. It is designed as a list of validation techniques covering all relevant aspects of model validation to be filled in by modelers, where they will indicate if and how each validation technique has been executed and what the outcomes were. It is then used by decision makers and their advisors to gain insight in the validation status of a model, without having to validate the model themselves. The tool is envisioned to be part of, for example, a submission dossier. The project purposely included experts from outside the health-economics field, in order to gain new insights. Starting from a gross list of validation techniques, the tool was developed using a Delphi panel of more than 50 international experts in several rounds. The workshop will start with an overview of the importance of model validation and the problems associated with it, such as consistency, transparency, and acceptability. Next, a first version of this tool will be shared, with a discussion on how it may help improve the model review process and support decision making. Next, we will actively invite audience members to add their own expertise by commenting on the draft tool. The workshop will finish with a discussion of the added value compared to other available instruments, among others the 2006 Phillips guidelines and the ISPOR Assessing Modeling Studies for Health Care Decisions Task Force.