Dr. Christoph Thommen

Work at ZHAW

Position

• Research associate and lecturer
• Co-Head Health Economics Research

Experience

• Co-head Health Economics Research
  WIG, ZHAW
  05 / 2022 - today
• Research associate and lecturer
  WIG, ZHAW
  05 / 2021 - today
• Co-head and statistician
  SwissDRG Inc.
  12 / 2013 - 11 / 2017
• Research assistant
  Statistical services of the City of Berne
  07 / 2013 - 11 / 2013
• Intern
  State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation
  01 / 2012 - 09 / 2012
• Subject teacher
  WKS KV Berne
  07 / 2009 - 06 / 2012

Education and Continuing education

Education

• PhD / Economics
  University of Basel
  08 / 2016 - 04 / 2021
• Master of Science / Statistics
  University of Neuchâtel
  09 / 2013 - 02 / 2014
• Master of Science / Economics
  University of Berne
  09 / 2009 - 09 / 2011
• Bachelor of Science / Economics
  University of Berne
  10 / 2005 - 06 / 2009

Continuing Education

CAS in Health Care Management
Kalaidos FH
03 / 2016

Projects

• Costs of communicable and non-communicable diseases and of the risk factors physical inactivity and overweight in Switzerland / Team member / completed
• Changing care pathways of accident patients from 2000 to 2017 and their impact on health care costs / Deputy project leader / completed

Publications

• Wirth, Brigitte; Stucki, Michael; Joerg, Reto; Thommen, Christoph; Höglinger, Marc,

  2024.

  Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on inpatient health care in Switzerland 2020–2021 : a descriptive retrospective study using admission data of all Swiss hospitals.

  PLOS ONE.

  19(7), pp. e0306791.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0306791

• Thommen, Christoph; Hintermann, Beat,

  2023.

  Price versus commitment : managing the demand for off-peak train tickets in a field experiment.

  Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice.

  174(103691).

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2023.103691

• Thommen, Christoph,

  2021.

  On trains, wages and hospitals : three essays in public economics.

  Leipzig:

  sedruck KG.

• Bürgin, Reto; Vetsch-Tzogiou, Christina; Stucki, Michael; Kauer, Lukas; Pirktl, Lennart; van Kleef, Richard C.; Kohler, Andreas; Drewek, Anna; Thommen, Christoph; Dettling, Marcel; Wieser, Simon,

  2024.

  Improving risk adjustment in Switzerland with pharmaceutical cost groups[paper].

  In:

  6th Swiss Health Economic Workshop, Lucerne, Switzerland, 7 June 2024.

• Thommen, Christoph,

  2025.

  Tarifanwendungskontrolle in der Krankenversicherung : wie sind Stichproben zu ziehen?.

  Soziale Sicherheit CHSS.

  Available from: https://sozialesicherheit.ch/de/tarifanwendungskontrolle-in-der-krankenversicherung-wie-sind-stichproben-zu-ziehen/

• Kohler, Andreas; Thommen, Christoph,

  2024.

  When the market overtakes regulated prices : the case of prescription drugs[paper].

  In:

  16. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (dggö), Halle (Saale), Deutschland, 4.-5. März 2024.

• Bürgin, Reto; Stucki, Michael; Vetsch-Tzogiou, Christina; Kauer, Lukas; Kohler, Andreas; Drewek, Anna; Thommen, Christoph; Dettling, Marcel; Wieser, Simon,

  2024.

  Wirkungsanalyse zum Risikoausgleich mit pharmazeutischen Kostengruppen (PCG) : Schlussbericht.

  Winterthur:

  ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-30489

• Thommen, Christoph; Stucki, Michael; Scholz-Odermatt, Stefan; Höglinger, Marc,

  2023.

  Does the shift in initial care provision from general practitioners to emergency departments lead to an increase in costs? : a decomposition analysis with accident claims data.

  SSRN.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4635352

• Thommen, Christoph,

  2023.

  Ist ChatGPT der bessere Arzt?.

  Gesundheitsökonomie @ ZHAW.

  Available from: https://blog.zhaw.ch/gesundheitsoekonomie/2023/06/08/ist-chatgpt-der-bessere-arzt/

• Kohler, Andreas; Maurer, Matthias; Thommen, Christoph,

  2022.

  (Wie) gelingt die Kostendämpfung?.

  Gesundheitsökonomie @ ZHAW.

  Available from: https://blog.zhaw.ch/gesundheitsoekonomie/2022/09/22/wie-gelingt-die-kostendaempfung/

• Thommen, Christoph,

  2022.

  »Breast is best!» oder doch nicht?.

  Gesundheitsökonomie @ ZHAW.

  Available from: https://blog.zhaw.ch/gesundheitsoekonomie/2022/06/09/breast-is-best-oder-doch-nicht/

• Wirth, Brigitte; Stucki, Michael; Jörg, Reto; Thommen, Christoph; Pahud, Olivier; Höglinger, Marc,

  2022.

  Die Schweizer Spitäler in der Covid-19-Pandemie : Auswirkungen auf die Fallzahlen der stationären Gesundheitsversorgung.

  Obsan Bulletin

  .

  Neuchâtel:

  Schweizerisches Gesundheitsobservatorium (Obsan).

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-26601

• Maurer, Matthias; Wieser, Simon; Kohler, Andreas; Thommen, Christoph,

  2022.

  Partnership for health system sustainability and resilience (PHSSR) : sustainability and resilience in the Swiss health system.

  LSE Consulting.

  Available from: https://www.phssr.org/findings

• Thommen, Christoph; Hintermann, Beat,

  2022.

  Price versus commitment : managing the demand for off-peak train tickets in a field experiment.

  Basel:

  Universität Basel.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.5451/unibas-ep89789

• Thommen, Christoph,

  2021.

  Ein Glas auf den Babybauch.

  Gesundheitsökonomie @ ZHAW.

  Available from: https://blog.zhaw.ch/gesundheitsoekonomie/2021/11/25/ein-glas-auf-den-babybauch/

• Thommen, Christoph,

  2024.

  The direct costs of automated vs. conventional drug dispensing.

  In:

  16. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (dggö), Halle (Saale), Deutschland, 4.-5. März 2024.

• Thommen, Christoph; Stucki, Michael; Scholz-Odermatt, Stefan; Höglinger, Marc,

  2023.

  Does the shift in initial care provision from GPs to EDs lead to an increase in costs? : a decomposition analysis with accident claims data.

  In:

  15. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), Hannover, Deutschland, 13.-14. März 2023.

• Thommen, Christoph; Stucki, Michael; Höglinger, Marc; Scholz-Odermatt, Stefan,

  2022.

  Does increasing emergency department use at the expense of general practitioners really drives up costs? : a decomposition analysis with claims data.

  In:

  13th EuHEA Conference, Oslo, Norway, 5-8 July 2022.

• Thommen, Christoph; Hintermann, Beat,

  2022.

  Price versus commitment : managing the demand for off-peak train tickets.

  In:

  Annual Congress of the Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES/SGVS), Fribourg, Switzerland, 23-24 June 2022.

• Thommen, Christoph; Hintermann, Beat,

  2022.

  What is the cost of waiting for the next train? : evidence from a field experiment on Swiss long-distance trains.

  In:

  Young Swiss Economists Meeting (YSEM) 2022, Zürich, Switzerland, 17-18 February 2022.

• Thommen, Christoph,

  2021.

  Political budget cycles in public health care expenditure in Switzerland.

  In:

  Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics Annual Congress 2021, online, 10-11 June 2021.

• Thommen, Christoph; Schoeman, Beaumont,

  2020.

  The impact of inter-sector business cycles on the gender wage gap : evidence from Switzerland.

  In:

  Verein für Socialpolitik (VfS) Annual Conference 2020 : Gender Economics, Köln, Deutschland, 27.-30. September 2020.

go back