The Dutch tariff: results and arguments for an effective design for national EQ‐5D valuation studies

Abstract The objective of this study was to estimate a Dutch EQ‐5D tariff and to determine in a simulation study using the dataset of the original UK valuation study, the number of health states and respondents needed to estimate a reliable tariff. In all, 300 Dutch respondents directly valued 17 states compared to 3000 respondents and 42 states in the original MVH protocol. The results reaffirmed differences in health‐related preferences between countries, justifying the estimation of national tariffs. The mean absolute error was 0.030. The design of this study is recommended for national EQ‐5D valuation studies. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.