Evaluating the consequences of rheumatoid arthritis

Björn Sossong (), Stefan Felder, Malte Wolff and Klaus Krüger
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Björn Sossong: Ruhr Graduate School in Economics and University of Duisburg-Essen
Stefan Felder: University of Basel
Malte Wolff: AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG
Klaus Krüger: LMU Munich and Rheumazentrum München

The European Journal of Health Economics, 2017, vol. 18, issue 6, No 3, 685-696

Abstract: Abstract Patients and non-patients tend to attach different utility values to the state of suffering from specific illnesses. This observation naturally leads to the question whose utility values should be used as the basis in cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA). Intuitively, one would presume that patients are better informed about the consequences of their illness, and public authorities should, therefore, use the patients’ utility values in CEA. Contrary to this presumption, it has been argued that society at large should determine which values are to be used and not the patients because, in the end, it is societal resources that are to be allocated. Against this background, we use data from a discrete choice experiment (DCE) that was completed by patients of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and non-patients to explore the discrepancies between the two groups' utility estimates for typical consequences of RA. Our results indicate that both groups attach remarkably similar part-worth utilities to the symptoms pain, fatigue, and functional limitations. However, non-patients significantly undervalue the ability to work when compared to patients.

Keywords: Discrete choice experiment; Cost-effectiveness analysis; Rheumatoid arthritis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D12 J17 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1007/s10198-016-0818-x

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