Reference price: a tool for pricing new healthcare services

Area of Science:

• Health Economics
• Marketing Science
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Accurate estimation of healthcare service demand is crucial for resource allocation and strategic planning.
• Understanding patient price perception, specifically reference price (R-Price), is vital for demand modeling.
• Existing R-Price measures may require validation within the unique context of healthcare services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the convergent validity and scale reliability of three Reference Price (R-Price) measures.
• To evaluate the suitability of a multiple-scale R-Price measure for a novel healthcare service.
• To determine the potential utility of R-Price measures in healthcare demand estimation.

Main Methods:

• Employed an adult sample for data collection.
• Utilized Pearson correlation and Cronbach's alpha for reliability and validity assessment.
• Conducted Factor analysis to examine the underlying structure of the R-Price measures.

Main Results:

• The multiple-scale R-Price measure demonstrated strong convergent validity.
• Scale reliability was confirmed through statistical analysis.
• Results indicate the R-Price scale is a dependable measure for this healthcare context.

Conclusions:

• The validated R-Price scale offers a reliable and valid tool for healthcare research.
• Incorporating this R-Price measure can enhance the accuracy of healthcare service demand estimation.
• Findings provide practical managerial implications for healthcare professionals regarding pricing strategies.