<P> Cost--utility analysis (CUA) is a form of financial analysis used to guide procurement decisions . </P> <P> The most common and well - known application of this analysis is in pharmacoeconomics, especially health technology assessment (HTA). </P> <P> In health economics the purpose of CUA is to estimate the ratio between the cost of a health - related intervention and the benefit it produces in terms of the number of years lived in full health by the beneficiaries . Hence it can be considered a special case of cost - effectiveness analysis, and the two terms are often used interchangeably . </P>

What aspects of equity do cost-utility analyses typically not incorporate