Quality adjusted life years (QALYs) are a measure used in economic evaluations of medical interventions that take into account both the quality and quantity of life. One QALY is equal to one year in perfect health. QALYs weight years of life by a scale from 0 to 1 based on quality of life, allowing the health effects of interventions to be compared. They are commonly used to help determine healthcare resource allocation by assessing the health benefits of interventions compared to their costs. The number of QALYs provided by a treatment is calculated based on the additional years of life it provides adjusted for the utility or quality of life during those years.