Willingness to pay for polysomnography in children with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: A cost-benefit analysis

Objectives: To analyze willingness to pay (WTP) for polysomnography (PSG) among parents of children with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). To analyze the cost-benefit of PSG in a collectively funded healthcare system. Setting: University-affiliated sleep laboratory. Subjects: Parents of 158 boys and 94 girls, who had a mean age of 6.0 ± 3.9 years. The telephone survey, using a contingent valuation approach, was conducted with 3 groups of parents: those whose children were scheduled for PSG (n = 83), whose children were had had PSG within the previous 6 months (n = 77), and whose children had had PSG and adenotonsillectomy in the previous 6 months (n = 92). Results: Two hundred and fifty-two parents (92% compliance rate), 75% of whom were mothers, responded to the WTP interview. Multivariate analysis revealed that the independent variables influencing WTP were bid (OR = 0.745, P < .001), age times bid (OR = 0.835, P < .05), and affected health status (OR = 3.5, P < .001). The median WTP value for PSG studies of children with OSAS following adenotonsillectomy was $762 plus the savings of $60 to the health care system - subtracting the cost of the $250 PSG study resulted in a monetary benefit of $572 per diagnosis. Conclusions: We conclude that PSG diagnosis for children with OSAS is beneficial. Decision makers and sleep specialists can use WTP to prioritize allocation of resources to increase the availability of PSG studies for children.