TITLE:  Use of Stated Preference Surveys to Quantify Preferences and Willingness to Pay for End of Life Care

ABSTRACT:

The goal of this presentation is to provide an understanding of decision-making around high cost medical care at the end of life. We use  a series of discrete choice (conjoint) analyses to quantify preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for various EOL treatment options of community dwelling older adults (CDOAs), advanced cancer patients, caregivers, and physicians. We show that community dwelling older adults systematically underestimate their willingness to pay for high cost medical care, and that caregivers often want to provide greater levels of care than patients prefer for themselves. There is significant heterogeneity in treatment recommendations for similar patients by physicians. These results have implications for how best to finance and deliver medical care to patients with life limiting illnesses.

Bio:

Dr Eric A. Finkelstein, Ph.D., M.H.A. is the Director of Lien Centre for Palliative Care and Professor of the Signature Research Program in Health Services and Systems Research at the Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School and Research Professor at Duke University Global Health Institute. He received his BA in Mathematics/Economics from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in economics and Masters in Health Administration from the University of Washington. Over the past ten years Professor Finkelstein has established himself as a leading international health economist doing research in the economics of health behaviours. His research focuses on economic incentives, behavioural economics, the economics of obesity, discrete choice analysis, economic evaluation, burden of illness analysis and cost effectiveness analyses. He has published over 70 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 2 books, and several book chapters in these areas. He also has experience as a Principal or Co-Investigator on research projects funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. His research has been showcased in the Economist, Wall Street Journal, New York Times and other television, print, and media outlets throughout the world.