Modelling heterogeneity in patients' preferences for the attributes of a general practitioner appointment

J Health Econ. 2008 Jul;27(4):1078-1094. doi: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2007.11.006. Epub 2007 Nov 29.

Abstract

This paper examines the distribution of preferences among respondents to a discrete choice experiment on the choice of general practitioner appointments. In addition to standard logit, mixed and latent class logit models are used to analyse the data from the choice experiment. It is found that there is significant preference heterogeneity for all the attributes in the experiment and that both the mixed and latent class models lead to significant improvements in fit compared to the standard logit model. Moreover, the distribution of preferences implied by the preferred mixed and latent class models is similar for many attributes.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Appointments and Schedules*
  • Choice Behavior*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Logistic Models*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Patient Satisfaction*
  • Physician-Patient Relations*
  • Physicians, Family*
  • United Kingdom