Characteristics of patients willing to pay $1–$2000 for robotic-assisted thoracoscopic surgery compared with patients unwilling to contribute
| Characteristic | Unwilling to pay, no. (%) n = 78 | Willing to pay $1–$2000, no. (%) n = 333 | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age at surgery | 0.851 | ||
| ≥ 65 | 45 (57.69) | 196 (58.86) | |
| < 65 | 33 (42.31) | 137 (41.14) | |
| Gender | 0.563 | ||
| Male | 30 (38.46) | 140 (42.04) | |
| Female | 48 (61.54) | 193 (57.96) | |
| Ethnicity | 0.509 | ||
| White | 72 (92.31) | 314 (94.29) | |
| Non-white | 6 (7.69) | 19 (5.71) | |
| Insurance at the time of surgery | 0.009 | ||
| Solely private, both private and OHIP | 21 (26.92) | 143 (42.94) | |
| Solely OHIP, no insurance | 57 (73.08) | 190 (57.06) | |
| Overall experience with robotic surgery | < 0.001 | ||
| < 8 out of 10 | 28 (35.90) | 30 (9.01) | |
| ≥ 8 out of 10 | 50 (64.10) | 303 (90.99) | |
| Experience with the wait time for robotic surgery | 0.353 | ||
| Too short, short, long, too long | 32 (41.03) | 156 (46.85) | |
| Adequate | 46 (58.97) | 177 (53.15) | |
| Overall postoperative experience in the hospital | 0.012 | ||
| Very unsatisfied, unsatisfied, neutral | 15 (19.23) | 31 (9.31) | |
| Satisfied, very satisfied | 63 (80.77) | 302 (90.69) | |
| Overall postoperative experience after discharge from the hospital | 0.009 | ||
| Very unsatisfied, unsatisfied, neutral | 18 (23.08) | 39 (11.71) | |
| Satisfied, very satisfied | 60 (76.92) | 294 (88.29) | |
| Education level* | 0.238 | ||
| Elementary school, high school | 50 (67.57) | 198 (60.18) | |
| Postsecondary (college, university undergraduate, university graduate, professional school) | 24 (32.43) | 131 (39.82) | |
| Annual income at the time of surgery† | 0.035 | ||
| $0–$39 999 | 37 (69.81) | 150 (54.15) | |
| ≥$40 000 or more | 16 (30.19) | 127 (45.85) |
OHIP = Ontario Health Insurance Plan.
↵* Patients who chose “prefer not to answer” were removed from the analysis (patients unwilling to pay, n = 74; patients willing to pay $1–$2000, n = 329).
↵† Patients who chose “prefer not to answer” were removed from the analysis (patients unwilling to pay, n = 53; patients willing to pay $1–$2000, n = 277).