Which analysis looks at actual outcomes in natural units such as LDL reductions or A1c changes?

• A. Cost Effectiveness Analysis
• B. Cost Minimization Analysis
• C. Cost Benefit Analysis
• D. Time Series Analysis

Answer: (A)

This question tests how economic evaluations quantify outcomes in health care. Cost-effectiveness analysis expresses cost relative to a natural unit of outcome, such as an LDL reduction or an A1c change. That means you’re explicitly linking the money spent to a real clinical effect, making it possible to judge which intervention delivers more health benefit per unit of cost (for example, cost per mg/dL LDL reduction or cost per percentage point drop in A1c).

Other approaches don’t fit as neatly here. A method that assumes outcomes are identical and only compares costs isn’t about differing clinical effects, so it wouldn’t capture the actual LDL or A1c changes. Monetizing all benefits is the realm of cost-benefit analysis, which would convert health outcomes into dollars rather than keeping them in their natural clinical units. Time series analysis is a statistical technique for examining data over time, not a method for comparing costs to clinical outcomes.

So, using outcomes in natural units aligned with costs is what cost-effectiveness analysis does best.