Introduction
DISEASES
Discounting is a method of adjusting the future costs and benefits of healthcare interventions such as devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures, and healthcare systems to their present value. The impact of discounting, according to the context of economic evaluation, is dependent on the timing of costs and benefits, implying that society values future costs and benefits less than current costs and benefits. As a result, discounting costs and health outcomes should be taken into accountSeveral controversies in terms of theoretical rationale exist regarding whether costs and health benefits should be discounted at the same rateDelay discounting is another issue that plays an important role in different outcomes. Based on the review study conducted by Odum et al.Most of the recommendations for discounting costs and health outcomes are taken into action by government agencies or regulatory bodies. For example, the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE), an organization in the United Kingdom (UK) that provides national guidance and advice to improve public health policy and social care, recommends discounting the costs and benefits of healthcare interventions at the same rate (3.5% per year)Previous studies on discounting in economic evaluation revealed that the choice experiment was commonly conducted to estimate the discount rate of monetary and/or health outcomes. The discount rate for monetary and health outcomes was found in the range of 2–28.5% and 3–29.4%, respectivelyIn Thailand, the annual discount rates for cost and outcome at the same rate of 3% are still recommended for the economic evaluation of healthcare interventions in accordance with the Thai HTA guidelinesTherefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the discount rates for costs and health outcomes in the Thai context, including discount rates for health derived from communicable and non-communicable diseases. Moreover, this study aimed to explore the socio-demographic characteristics that influence discounting.