Eliciting willingness-to-pay to prevent hospital medication administration errors in the UK: a contingent valuation survey

Medication errors are common in hospitals. These errors can result in adverse drug events (ADEs), which can reduce the health and well-being of patients’, and their relatives and caregivers. Interventions have been developed to reduce medication errors, including those that occur at the administration stage. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to elicit willingness-to-pay (WTP) values to prevent hospital medication administration errors. DESIGN AND SETTING: An online, contingent valuation (CV) survey was conducted, using the random card-sort elicitation method, to elicit WTP to prevent medication errors. PARTICIPANTS: A representative sample of the UK public. METHODS: Seven medication error scenarios, varying in the potential for harm and the severity of harm, were valued. Scenarios were developed with input from: clinical experts, focus groups with members of the public and piloting. Mean and median WTP values were calculated, excluding protest responses or those that failed a logic test. A two-part model (logit, generalised linear model) regression analysis was conducted to explore predictive characteristics of WTP. RESULTS: Responses were collected from 1001 individuals. The proportion of respondents willing to pay to prevent a medication error increased as the severity of the ADE increased and was highest for scenarios that described actual harm occurring. Mean WTP across the scenarios ranged from £45 (95% CI £36 to £54) to £278 (95% CI £200 to £355). Several factors influenced both the value and likelihood of WTP, such as: income, known experience of medication errors, sex, field of work, marriage status, education level and employment status. Predictors of WTP were not, however, consistent across scenarios. CONCLUSIONS: This CV study highlights how the UK public value preventing medication errors. The findings from this study could be used to carry out a cost–benefit analysis which could inform implementation decisions on the use of technology to reduce medication administration errors in UK hospitals.