BACKGROUND Over $6 billion per year is spent on prescription medication for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). This study is an economic analysis of patients' willingness to pay for a prescription medication that offers complete relief of GERD symptoms. METHODS The study was a cross-sectional, nonrandomized design recruiting patients from 5 clinical sites. A computer-administered discret...

Estimates of willingness to pay (WTP) for health, environmental, and other goods obtained using contingent valuation (CV) have been criticized as inadequately sensitive to the scope or magnitude of the good. We investigate the sensitivity of WTP to variation in the magnitude of reductions in health risk using survey data collected in two countries, Taiwan and the United States, that differ dram...

This study is an attempt to overcome the lack of reliable estimates on the willingness of Malaysian users to pay for public transportation (particularly buses) through a combined analysis of a fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (F-AHP) and the Taguchi method. This is a ground-breaking study in the attempt to evaluate the bus users’ satisfaction factors based on the F-AHP, and find the pattern f...

This paper examines the determinants of the decision of low-income renters to move out of their current dwelling. Maximum score estimation is shown t be superior to ordinary discrete choice estimation techniques (probit, logit) for this problem, ad for similar discrete choices that require revering a previously optimal decision. The estimation reveals psychological costs f moving for typical lo...

Cultural ecosystem service (CES) constitutes a growing field of researches in integrated land planning, among which is how to optimize the provision to nearby neighborhoods. Thus an understanding of the value of CES appreciated by residents needs to be developed. Stated preference methods are popular in valuing CES, among which, willingness to pay (WTP) is the most widely used way. But still, i...

Health care-related apps provide valuable facts and have added a new dimension to knowledge sharing. The purpose of this study is to understand the pattern of utilization of mobile apps specifically created for anesthesia providers. Smartphone app stores were searched, and a survey was sent to 416 anesthesia providers at 136 anesthesiology residency programs querying specific facets of applicat...

In this paper we report on two applications of the Willingness-to-Pay (WTP) approach to valuing transport externalities in Santiago, Chile. The first involves a contingent valuation study of mortality risk due in part to pollution-related causes, and the second, a stated preference study for valuing the reduction of risk from road fatalities. It is concluded that the approaches, and particularl...

Invasive treatment of intermittent claudication (IC) is commonly performed, despite limited evidence its cost effectiveness. IC symptoms are mainly caused by atherosclerotic lesions in the superficial femoral artery (SFA), and endovascular performed frequently. The aim this study was to investigate effectiveness vs. non-invasive treatment. One hundred patients with due SFA were randomised prima...

OBJECTIVE The principle aim of this study was to generate a league table of drugs considered by the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) for reimbursement. The table was used to test the hypothesis that decisions made by the PBAC are consistent with the maxim of economic efficiency. In addition, we explored whether the past decisions by the PBAC revealed a threshold incr...

AIM To estimate the potential cost effectiveness of photodynamic therapy (PDT) with verteporfin in the UK setting. METHODS Using data from a variety of sources a Markov model was built to produce estimates of the cost effectiveness (incremental cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY) and incremental cost per vision year gained) of PDT for two cohorts of patients (one with starting visual a...