Estimating Willingness to Pay for Online Health Services with Discrete-Choice Experiments

Jieun Chang, Scott Savage () and Donald M. Waldman ()
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Jieun Chang: Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Donald M. Waldman: University of Colorado Boulder

Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, 2017, vol. 15, issue 4, No 7, 500 pages

Abstract: Abstract Background Research has outlined the benefits and costs of online health services, but these studies have typically focused on a specific geographic region or disease. Very few studies have estimated consumer demand for online health services. Objective This study estimated household’s willingness to pay (WTP) for the ability to receive remote diagnosis, treatment, monitoring and consultations online (telehealth). Methods WTP was estimated with a random utility model and household data from a US survey employing repeated discrete-choice experiments. Results The representative household was willing to pay $US4.39 per month for telehealth. This valuation increased to $US5.85 for households with higher opportunity costs, as measured by income, and to $US6.22 for households living more than 20 miles away from their nearest medical facility. Conclusion WTP estimates offer insights into the potential benefits from policies intended to promote the expansion of online health services into underserved areas. These include the Federal Communications Commission’s Rural Healthcare Pilot Program and the Department of Agriculture’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants programme.

Keywords: Choice Task; Medical Facility; Internet Service; Federal Communication Commission; Random Utility Model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1007/s40258-017-0316-z

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