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

• Time tracking of vaccination in pharmacies / Deputy project leader / ongoing
• Costs of work-related accidents, diseases, and health problems / Team member / ongoing
• 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

Articles in scientific journal, peer-reviewed

• Wirth, B. et al. (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), p. e0306791. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0306791.
• Thommen, C. and Hintermann, B. (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). doi: 10.1016/j.tra.2023.103691.

Books, peer-reviewed

Thommen, C. (2021) On trains, wages and hospitals : three essays in public economics. Doctoral dissertation. sedruck KG.

Book chapters, peer-reviewed

Wieser, S. et al. (2025) 'Kosten und Finanzierung', in Psychische Gesundheit in der Schweiz: Entwicklung, Förderung, Prävention und Versorgung : Nationaler Gesundheitsbericht 2025. Neuchâtel: Bundesamt für Statistik BFS, pp. 404–433. Available at: https://www.obsan.admin.ch/sites/default/files/2025-09/ngb2025_de.pdf.

Written conference contributions, peer-reviewed

Bürgin, R. et al. (2024) 'Improving risk adjustment in Switzerland with pharmaceutical cost groups', in 6th Swiss Health Economic Workshop, Lucerne, Switzerland, 7 June 2024.

Other publications

• Stucki, M. et al. (2025) Kosten der übertragbaren und nichtübertragbaren Krankheiten sowie Kosten der Risikofaktoren Übergewicht/Adipositas und Bewegungsmangel in der Schweiz. Winterthur: ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften. doi: 10.21256/zhaw-34672.
• Thommen, C. (2025) '425 Millionen­ ­US-Dollar für den ­­heiligen Gral der Krankenversicherung', Gesundheitsökonomie @ ZHAW. Available at: https://blog.zhaw.ch/gesundheitsoekonomie/2025/05/08/425-millionen-us-dollar-fuer-den-heiligen-gral-der-krankenversicherung/.
• Thommen, C. (2025) 'Tarifanwendungskontrolle in der Krankenversicherung : wie sind Stichproben zu ziehen?', Soziale Sicherheit CHSS. Available at: https://sozialesicherheit.ch/de/tarifanwendungskontrolle-in-der-krankenversicherung-wie-sind-stichproben-zu-ziehen/.
• Thommen, C. (2025) 'Auch die Verpackung zählt : 450 Mio. Franken Einsparpotential bei Medikamenten', Gesundheitsökonomie @ ZHAW. Available at: https://blog.zhaw.ch/gesundheitsoekonomie/2025/01/09/auch-die-verpackung-zaehlt-450-mio-franken-einsparpotential-bei-medikamenten/.
• Kohler, A. and Thommen, C. (2024) 'When the market overtakes regulated prices : the case of prescription drugs', in 16. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (dggö), Halle (Saale), Deutschland, 4.-5. März 2024.
• Bürgin, R. et al. (2024) Wirkungsanalyse zum Risikoausgleich mit pharmazeutischen Kostengruppen (PCG) : Schlussbericht. Winterthur: ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften. doi: 10.21256/zhaw-30489.
• Thommen, C. et al. (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. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.4635352.
• Thommen, C. (2023) 'Ist ChatGPT der bessere Arzt?', Gesundheitsökonomie @ ZHAW. Available at: https://blog.zhaw.ch/gesundheitsoekonomie/2023/06/08/ist-chatgpt-der-bessere-arzt/.
• Maurer, M. et al. (2022) Partnership for health system sustainability and resilience (PHSSR) : sustainability and resilience in the Swiss health system. LSE Consulting. Available at: https://www.phssr.org/findings.
• Thommen, C. and Hintermann, B. (2022) Price versus commitment : managing the demand for off-peak train tickets in a field experiment. Basel: Universität Basel. doi: 10.5451/unibas-ep89789.
• Wirth, B. et al. (2022) Die Schweizer Spitäler in der Covid-19-Pandemie : Auswirkungen auf die Fallzahlen der stationären Gesundheitsversorgung. Neuchâtel: Schweizerisches Gesundheitsobservatorium (Obsan). doi: 10.21256/zhaw-26601.
• Kohler, A., Maurer, M. and Thommen, C. (2022) '(Wie) gelingt die Kostendämpfung?', Gesundheitsökonomie @ ZHAW. Available at: https://blog.zhaw.ch/gesundheitsoekonomie/2022/09/22/wie-gelingt-die-kostendaempfung/.
• Thommen, C. (2022) '»Breast is best!» oder doch nicht?', Gesundheitsökonomie @ ZHAW. Available at: https://blog.zhaw.ch/gesundheitsoekonomie/2022/06/09/breast-is-best-oder-doch-nicht/.
• Thommen, C. (2021) 'Ein Glas auf den Babybauch', Gesundheitsökonomie @ ZHAW. Available at: https://blog.zhaw.ch/gesundheitsoekonomie/2021/11/25/ein-glas-auf-den-babybauch/.

Oral conference contributions and abstracts

• Wieser, S. et al. (2025) 'Beyond health care spending : drivers of health-related production losses in Switzerland', in 16th IHEA World Congress on Health Economics, Bali, Indonesia, 19-23 July 2025.
• Thommen, C. (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, C. et al. (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, C. et al. (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, C. and Hintermann, B. (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, C. and Hintermann, B. (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, C. (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, C. and Schoeman, B. (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.

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