Distributional Cost-Effectiveness Analysis in China Guidelines 2025

Posted on Monday 22 December 2025

The 2025 edition of the China guidelines for pharmacoeconomic evaluation encourages researchers to start incorporating equity considerations into economic evaluations, using various methods including distributional cost-effectiveness analysis (DCEA). While currently recommended only as supplementary information for decision making, this represents an important step forward for integrating health equity into resource allocation decisions.

The Centre for Health Economics (CHE) at the University of York has developed DCEA methods that can be applied to assess whether new medicines, devices, diagnostics, and specialised technologies have a substantial impact on social inequality in health. 
These methods complement ongoing efforts in China, where researchers are developing the necessary building blocks for routine DCEA use, including a county-level deprivation index, baseline health inequality measures, and surveys of public and policymaker preferences regarding reducing health inequality versus improving overall health.

This milestone mirrors the approach taken earlier this year by NICE in England and Wales, which recommends DCEA as supplementary information in clinical and public health guideline development and technology evaluation. Earlier this year, NICE started using health inequality methods developed by CHE to inform NHS funding recommendations for new medicines, devices, and other health technologies.

By applying these methods, policymakers can better understand how health interventions affect both population health and health inequalities.

Interested in applying DCEA to real-world health policy decisions? Explore CHE’s short course on DCEA methods.