Assessing willingness to pay for health care quality improvements

BACKGROUND Contingent valuation (CV) is used to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) of consumers for specific attributes to improve the quality of health care they received in three hospitals in Bangladesh. METHODS Random sample of 252 patients were interviewed to measure their willingness to pay for seven specified improvements in the quality of delivered medical care. Partial tobit regression and corresponding marginal effects analysis were used to analyze the data and obtain WTP estimates. RESULTS Patients are willing to pay more if their satisfaction with three attributes of care are increased. These are: a closer doctor-patient relationship, increased drug availability and increased chances of recovery. The doctor patient relationship is considered most important by patients and exhibited the highest willingness to pay. CONCLUSIONS This study provides important information to policy makers about the monetary valuation of patients for improvements in certain attributes of health care in Bangladesh.