title: Consumer preferences for telemedicine devices and services in South Korea.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The scope of healthcare has been expanding from caring for sick people to keeping people from becoming sick, and telemedicine will play a significant role in this new healthcare paradigm. This study investigated consumer preferences and willingness to pay for attributes of telemedicine services in South Korea. A market simulation was conducted to examine the market shares of alternative services and their relationships to the perceived usefulness of service types and preferred device types.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a conjoint survey, we collected data on consumer preferences for six telemedicine service attributes. Data analysis used the Bayesian mixed logit model. The market simulation estimated the probabilities of a specific service alternative being chosen using estimated model coefficients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Wearable devices were the most preferred, followed by smart-home and smartphone devices. Consumers perceived managing blood glucose to be the most useful telemedicine service, followed by monitoring oxygen saturation and blood pressure. The market simulation indicated that consumer preferences for device types were associated with the types of chronic diseases for which management through telemedicine services is perceived to be useful.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As the focus of healthcare moves from treating patients to keeping individuals healthy, a key factor for the successful deployment of telemedicine services is understanding consumer perceptions and attitudes. The results of this study revealed the dynamics of consumer preferences with regard to service attributes.
authors.affiliation: Technology Management, Economics, and Policy Graduate Program, Seoul National University , Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Joongha
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Jungwoo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Jongsu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kwangsoo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Hayoung
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D001794:Blood Pressure; D040421:Cell Phone; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D003625:Data Collection; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D056910:Republic of Korea; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013686:Telemetry
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D010100:Oxygen