title: Reporting Guidelines for the Use of Expert Judgement in Model-Based Economic Evaluations.
abstract: Expert judgement has a role in model-based economic evaluations (EEs) of healthcare interventions. This study aimed to produce reporting criteria for two types of study design to use expert judgement in model-based EE: (i) an expert elicitation (quantitative) study; and (ii) a Delphi study to collate (qualitative) expert opinion.
  
  
  
  A two-round online Delphi process identified the degree of consensus for four core definitions (expert; expert parameter values; expert elicitation study; expert opinion) and two sets of reporting criteria in a purposive sample of experts. The initial set of reporting criteria comprised 17 statements for reporting a study to elicit parameter values and/or distributions and 11 statements for reporting a Delphi survey to obtain expert opinion. Fifty experts were invited to become members of the Delphi process panel by e-mail. Data analysis summarised the extent of agreement (using a pre-defined 75 % 'consensus' threshold) on the definitions and suggested reporting criteria. Free-text comments were analysed using thematic analysis.
  
  
  
  The final panel comprised 12 experts. Consensus was achieved for the definitions of expert (88 %); expert parameter values (83 %); and expert elicitation study (83 %). The panel recommended criteria to use when reporting an expert elicitation study (16 criteria) and a Delphi study to collate expert opinion (11 criteria).
  
  
  
  This study has produced guidelines for reporting two types of study design to use expert judgement in model-based EE: (i) an expert elicitation study requiring 16 reporting criteria; and (ii) a Delphi study to collate expert opinion requiring 11 reporting criteria.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, Centre for Health Economics and the Hull and York Medical School, University of York, York, UK.
authors.forename: Cynthia P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Iglesias
authors.affiliation: Manchester Centre for Health Economics, The University of Manchester, 4th Floor, Jean McFarlane Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Health Economics and Health Care Management, Neuherberg, Germany.|Department of Health Care Management, Institute of Public Health and Nursing Research, Health Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
authors.forename: Wolf H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Rogowski
authors.affiliation: Manchester Centre for Health Economics, The University of Manchester, 4th Floor, Jean McFarlane Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK. Katherine.payne@manchester.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3938-4350
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Payne
mesh_terms: D032921:Consensus; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics*; D003697:Delphi Technique; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D018803:Models, Economic; D012107:Research Design