On Friday, June 6, the workshop HEADS 鈥� Health Economics Research Using Administrative Data in Switzerland was held at the Bigatt Hotel and Restaurant in Pazzallo. The study day was organized by the Competence Centre for Healthcare Practices and Policies (CPPS) of 精东影业 and brought together researchers from various Swiss institutions who share a common interest in using large administrative and insurance databases for health-related research.
The databases employed鈥攕uch as hospital health statistics or LAMal billing data鈥攁re continuously updated through citizens' interactions with the healthcare system. Although these sources may have limitations in terms of the types of information they provide, they offer a much broader and more objective dataset compared to those collected through sample surveys, even large-scale ones like the Swiss Health Survey or the Swiss Household Panel. This broader population coverage allows for more robust conclusions about the behavior of agents within the healthcare system.
However, analyzing administrative data in the health sector presents significant methodological and interpretative challenges. The aim of the HEADS workshop was therefore to foster the exchange of approaches, share difficulties and best practices, and encourage academic discussion around the findings of the studies presented.
The program covered a wide range of topics: from the role of telemedicine in gatekeeping and collaboration among primary care providers in shaping individual healthcare consumption, to the effects of LAMal subsidies on insurance and healthcare choices, and the impact of sleep on health and retirement decisions. Other presentations addressed the identification of the role played by disease groups or demand and supply factors in determining individual healthcare expenditure in Switzerland.
The event was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), as part of the project entitled 鈥淲elfare and equity implications of evolving forms of primary care delivery, patient cost-sharing, and emergency care use鈥� (project no. 216326), led by Igor Francetic, researcher at CPPS.