We found a continuing trend towards conducting DCEs across a broader range of countries .
However , the trend towards including fewer attributes was reversed , whilst the trend towards interview-based DCEs reversed because of increased computer administration .
The trend towards using more flexible econometric models , including mixed logit and latent class , has also continued .
Reporting of monetary values has fallen compared with earlier periods , but the proportion of studies estimating trade-offs between health outcomes and experience factors , or valuing outcomes in terms of utility scores , has increased , although use of odds ratios and probabilities has declined .
The reassuring trend towards the use of more flexible and appropriate DCE design s and econometric methods has been reinforced by the increased use of qualitative methods to inform DCE processes and results .
However , qualitative research methods are being used less often to inform attribute selection , which may make DCEs more susceptible to omitted variable bias if the decision framework is not known prior to the research project .
Background Discrete choice experiments ( DCEs ) are increasingly used in health economics to address a wide range of health policy-related concerns .
Objective Broadly adopting the methodology of an earlier systematic review of health-related DCEs , which covered the period 2001–2008 , we report whether earlier trends continued during 2009–2012 .
Physicians’ stated trade-off preferences for chronic hepatitis B treatment outcomes in Germany, France, Spain, Turkey, and Italy
Objective To quantify physicians ’ preferences among possible outcomes associated with chronic hepatitis B treatments and to determine which outcomes are most important to physicians in making treatment decisions . Methods Physicians in five countries who treat chronic hepatitis B patients completed a web-enabled  ,  choice-format , conjoint- analysis survey . The survey presented physicians with four treatment-choice questions for three different patient types . Each treatment-choice question included a pair of hypothetical medication profiles . Medication outcomes included how long the medication has been studied ( weight of evidence ) ; the probability that a patient ’s viral load remains undetectable for 5 years , with a possible histological improvement or reversal of disease progression ( long-term efficacy ) ; the 5-year treatment-related risk of fracture ; the 5-year treatment-related risk of renal dysfunction ; and patient cost . Treatment-choice questions were derived from a predetermined experimental design with known statistical properties . For each country , the r and om-parameters logit was used to estimate preference weights for all outcome levels and the mean relative importance of each outcome . Results Long-term efficacy and risk of renal dysfunction were the most important outcomes for the 788 physicians completing the survey , whereas weight of evidence was the least important . However , physicians perceived significant differences in weight of evidence timeframes . Physicians in Germany and France ranked efficacy above side-effect risk , whereas physicians in Spain , Italy , and Turkey ranked side-effect risk above efficacy in importance . Conclusion Physician preferences among treatment profiles indicate systematic differences in the relative importance of treatment outcomes . Physicians require higher efficacy for treatments with higher side-effect risk but somewhat less efficacy for treatments with longer evidence
We found a continuing trend towards conducting DCEs across a broader range of countries .
However , the trend towards including fewer attributes was reversed , whilst the trend towards interview-based DCEs reversed because of increased computer administration .
The trend towards using more flexible econometric models , including mixed logit and latent class , has also continued .
Reporting of monetary values has fallen compared with earlier periods , but the proportion of studies estimating trade-offs between health outcomes and experience factors , or valuing outcomes in terms of utility scores , has increased , although use of odds ratios and probabilities has declined .
The reassuring trend towards the use of more flexible and appropriate DCE design s and econometric methods has been reinforced by the increased use of qualitative methods to inform DCE processes and results .
However , qualitative research methods are being used less often to inform attribute selection , which may make DCEs more susceptible to omitted variable bias if the decision framework is not known prior to the research project .
Background Discrete choice experiments ( DCEs ) are increasingly used in health economics to address a wide range of health policy-related concerns .
Objective Broadly adopting the methodology of an earlier systematic review of health-related DCEs , which covered the period 2001–2008 , we report whether earlier trends continued during 2009–2012 .