  We are developing an economic model to explore multiple topics in Australian
youth mental health policy. We want that model to be readily transferable to
other jurisdictions. We developed a software framework for authoring
transparent, reusable and updatable Computational Health Economic Models
(CHEMs) (the software files that implement health economic models). We
specified framework user requirements of a template CHEM module that
facilitates modular model implementations, a simple programming syntax and
tools for authoring new CHEM modules, supplying CHEMs with data, reporting
reproducible CHEM analyses, searching for CHEM modules and maintaining a CHEM
project website. We implemented the framework as six development version code
libraries in the programming language R that integrate with online services for
software development and research data archiving. We used the framework to
author five development version R libraries of CHEM modules focused on utility
mapping in youth mental health. These modules provide tools for variable
validation, dataset description, multi-attribute instrument scoring,
construction of mapping models, reporting of mapping studies and making out of
sample predictions. We assessed these CHEM module libraries as mostly meeting
transparency, reusability and updatability criteria that we have previously
developed, but requiring more detailed documentation and unit testing of
individual modules. Our software framework has potential value as a prototype
for future tools to support the development of transferable CHEMs.
