Estimation of the value of time spent on NHS waiting lists using stated preference metholdology

The length of waiting lists for treatment in the British National Health Service is an issue of current political and economic concern. This paper presents estimates of the costs to consumers of waiting lists for non-urgent medical care. The estimates are derived from data collected using ‘Stated Preference’ methodology, widely used to establish values of time in transportation, but previously little applied to the field of methodology to estimate the costs of waiting lists, presents estimates of this cost and discusses the applicability of these estimates to cost benefit evaluation in the UK health care market.