Willingness to Pay for the Detection and Treatment of Vulnerable Plaque Related to Heart Attacks
- Presenter:
Chair: TBA; Discussant: Don Kenkel Mon June 5, 2006 15:30-17:00 Room 326
Recent medical studies have led cardiologists to revise theories regarding the cause of heart attacks. Rather than a gradual clogging of the arteries, eruption of a “vulnerable plaque” is thought to be the cause of approximately 75% of all heart attacks. As a result, traditional risk factors are no longer sufficient indicators of who is at risk for a heart attack. Our research investigates willingness to pay (WTP) for a new, hypothetical detection (screening) and treatment method for vulnerable plaque. We develop a survey instrument that exploits the visual and interactive aspects of the Internet. We provide information about screening and treatment and get individual’s perceptions of the effectiveness and risks associated with the screening and treatment. Using a web-based survey, which follows a contingent valuation format, we use an iterative bidding process to elicit the respondent’s WTP for either the screening or treatment of vulnerable plaque. The iterative bidding allows us to obtain a maximum willingness to pay value from each respondent. Internet, on-line surveys are often prone to coverage bias; however, Knowledge Networks has established a panel of randomly selected households, which allows researchers to achieve a nationally representative sample using online surveys. Our survey on screening (a simple blood test) resulted in a sample of 268 adults based on sampling representative of the general population. Our survey on treatment (a more invasive heart catheterization procedure) was administered only to those who had doctor-diagnosed heart problems and were therefore more familiar with these types of medical decisions and resulted in a sample of 295 adults. We find an average WTP for screening of approximately $90 and estimates for treatment that are approximately an order of magnitude greater. Our experience suggests that our approach can provide useful information for decision making dealing with screening and treatment related to heart attack.
