The Application of a Reversed Conjoint Analysis on Physicians’ Cost Sensitivity a Response to Professor J Hausman on Contingent Valuation ontribution from a Stated Preference Study in Health Care Research

Abstract

This paper is a contribution to current controversies on major statistical theological issues of stated preference studies. Professor Hausman and Professor Carson, both engaged in the litigation of the Exxon Valdez case, recently discussed again three major issues: embedding/scope issue, the existence of hypothetical biases since data are generated in experiments and willingness to pay versus willing to accept. However, their papers mainly targeted contingent valuation approach in willingness to pay studies and no other types of stated preference studies such as conjoint studies. I use a unique application of another type of stated preference study, a reversed conjoint analysis on physicians’ cost sensitivity to patient economics. It aims to show the value of such stated preference study especially with this topic of patient economics, not limited to out of pocket cost or copayment as one of the attributes in a set of products’ characteristics. Investigating the research question of physicians’ preferences and their value judgment also leads to discuss more the statistical contributions of clinical judgment analysis and the mathematical formulae used to assess overall judgment achievements. Bringing new methodological contributions (e.g. using S and D efficiency statistical tests on experimental designs in combination with econometric tests on effective data) can enhance stated preference studies which are increasingly useful in health care research especially with genomic medicine. Such stated preference studies can provide good predictors of revealed preference analysis, since statistical estimates of biases already calculated with collection of micro conjoint data over minimum of 5 to 10 years showed to be reliable.