Background: Non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common histologic type of lung cancer, accounting for 70–85% of all lung cancers. It has brought a heavy burden of disease and financial cost to families, society, and the nation of China. Patients have differing preferences for treatment because of their varying physical conditions and socioeconomic backgrounds, which ultimately affects the choice of treatment as well as treatment outcomes. For better and sustained health outcomes, it is vital to understand patients' preferences. We can then provide medical services to match these preferences and needs rather than basing treatment on our clinical viewpoints alone.Objectives: The aim of this study was to elicit patient preferences for treatment using a discrete-choice experiment and to explore the value/importance that patients place on the different attributes of treatment in order to provide a basis for clinical decision making and patient health management.Methods: The study was conducted with NSCLC patients from three typical hospitals in southwestern China. After identifying patient-relevant treatment attributes via literature review and qualitative semi structured interviews, a discrete-choice experiment (DCE) including seven patient-relevant attributes was conducted using a fractional factorial SAS design. The empiric data analyses of patients were performed using mixed logit models.Results: NSCLC patients (N = 202) completed a survey via a face-to-face interview. Among the seven attributes, the following were considered important: progression-free survival, disease control rate, cost, weakness/fatigue, and nausea/vomiting; mode of administration and rash were considered less important. A clear preference for an increase in progression-free survival and disease control rate was demonstrated. Compared with 5 months of progression-free survival, respondents were willing to pay more (19,860 RMB) for 11 months of progression-free survival (coef.: 0.687). Compared with a 60% rate of disease control, respondents were willing to pay more (19,940 RMB) for a 90% rate of disease control (coef.: 0.690).Conclusions: This study demonstrates the value of DCEs in determining patient preferences for the treatment of NSCLC. The results indicate that not only efficacy factors (such as progression-free survival and disease control rate) were considered but also other factors (such as side effects and treatment costs) and trade-offs between attributes were held to be important. These results are in accord with expectations and can provide evidence for more effective and efficient treatment results. Furthermore, the current results can increase benefits if the presented therapies can be designed, assessed, and chosen based on patient-oriented findings.

Objectives: To survey, analyze, and ascertain the preferences for specialty pharmacy services among patients requiring complex care and to provide evidence to support specialty pharmacy service decision-making in China.Methods: To identify essential service attributes and levels, a review of the literature, discussions with specialty pharmacy managers and a pilot questionnaire were conducted. A D-efficient fractional factorial design was used to generate the discrete-choice experiment (DCE) questionnaire. A face-to-face survey of patients with chronic illness and their families or friends was conducted at three specialty pharmacies in Chengdu and Qingdao, China. A mixed logit model was used for estimation.Results: Six relevant attributes were identified and incorporated into the DCE questionnaire. A total of 417 participants completed the survey (mean age 43 years, 45.1% males), and 32.1% had lung cancer. The conditional relative importance showed that the most critical attribute was “frequency of telephone follow-up to monitor adverse drug reactions (ADRs), “followed by “mode of drug delivery,” “provider of medication guidance services,” and “availability of medical insurance consultation”; the least important attribute was “business hours.” A 1 min increase in time spent led to a 0.73% decrease in the probability that a service profile would be chosen. Negative preferences were noted for ADR monitoring by telephone follow-up once a year (β = −0.23, p < 0.001) and business hours [8:30–20:00 (Monday to Friday), 8:30–17:30 (weekend)] (β = −0.12, p < 0.001). Compared with women, men had a higher preference for service monitoring ADRs once every 3 months.Conclusions: Preference measurements showed that “frequency of telephone follow-up to monitor ADRs” had the most critical impact on decisions, followed by “mode of drug delivery.” Specialty pharmacies in China need to take these findings into account to improve their design to increase uptake and patient loyalty.