He­alth­ca­re

The healthcare sector is complex. To position yourself successfully in the long term, you need detailed analyses of the market and economic environment. We determine the (in)adequacy of different reimbursement systems for you, measure willingness to pay for innovations, evaluate new supply models and help you overcome these and additional challenges with our methodological competence and expertise.

Ta­riff sys­tem re­forms (Swiss­DRG, Tar­med, LOA, etc.)

We develop reform proposals for the Swiss tariff systems and provide support for the political processes and court proceedings. Our analyses are data-based, unbiased and created according to scientific standards, providing a neutral opinion for public authorities and courts.

De­ter­mi­na­ti­on of pre­fe­ren­ces and wil­ling­ness to pay

Like everywhere, costs are often a main factor. The same is the case in the healthcare sector. But what about the benefits for those concerned? To give you a solid basis for decision-making, we determine and analyse the preferences of the population on your behalf, and measure willingness to pay for new products and services.

Risk ad­jus­t­ment and risk com­pen­sa­ti­on

We analyse your account data for meaningful morbidity indicators and risk adjustments. We helped develop the classification system that is being used since 2020 for risk compensation between health insurers, and we help you implement the corresponding ordinance (VORA).

Eva­lua­ti­on of he­alth-re­la­ted eco­no­mic in­no­va­tions and HTA

How does the cost-benefit ratio look for your innovations? We are confident that our scientifically substantiated methods can help you increase your innovation when performing health economic evaluations and health technology assessments (HTA). Here we use model calculations and analyse account data (real-life data).

Some of our projects

Calculation of the economic costs of addiction

Cost study, addiction

Calculation of the economic costs of addiction in Switzerland, taking into consideration direct and indirect costs. By order of the Federal Office of Public Health.

The economic importance of the healthcare sector in the Canton of Aargau

Impact study, jobs, value creation

Study on the economic importance of the healthcare sector in the Canton of Aargau with a comparison of the cantonal regulation with national Swiss regulations.

Evaluation – bowel cancer screening

Health economics, prevention, pharmacies

Health economic evaluation of the campaign for bowel cancer screening initiated by Swiss pharmacies. On behalf of a Swiss association.

Evaluation – cost model for psychiatry

Outpatient care, statistics, health economics

Evaluating the introduction of a standard cost model for outpatient psychiatry. Analysing the results and data using statistical methods, assessing the incentive effect of the standard cost model according to health economic criteria.

Base rates for hospitals

SwissDRG, inpatient care, benchmarking

Calculating service-based base rates in line with SwissDRG for several Swiss hospitals by means of a nationwide benchmarking.

Additional cost of paediatric care

Children’s hospital, service provider, SwissDRG, tariff setting

Determining various causes of service-related additional costs in children’s hospitals for SwissDRG and AllKidS based on the case costs of Swiss network hospitals.

Regulatory impact analysis of a reference price system for generics

Regulation impact analysis, pharmaceuticals market, reference price system

Regulation impact analysis regarding the implementation of a reference price system in the Swiss market for patent-expired pharmaceuticals. Commissioned by the Federal Office of Public Health and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.

Improvement of risk equalisation

Health insurance, pharmaceutical cost groups, settlement data

Transferring the Dutch concept of using pharmaceutical cost groups for risk equalisation over to Switzerland. On behalf of the Federal Office of Public Health, in collaboration with the University of Basel.

Supply obligation costs of Spitex

Care, service provider, cost reduction measures

Determining the costs  of supply obligation within the context of different financing concepts, developing a cockpit for the evaluation and implementation of cost reduction measures. On behalf of public home care organisations (Spitex).

Dr. Harry Telser

+41 62 205 15 78

Partners

Prof. Dr. Konstantin Beck, University of Lucerne, Switzerland - Prof. Dr. em. Kurt Hersberger, University of Basel, Switzerland - Prof. Dr. Michael Schlander, Division of Health Economics, DKFZ, Heidelberg; Institute for Innovation & Valuation in Health Care, Wiesbaden; Germany - Prof. Dr. Matthias Schwenkglenks, University of Basel, Switzerland - Prof. em. Dr. Peter Zweifel, University of Zurich, Switzerland - Azenes AG, Acturial Advice - Center for Health, Policy and Economics at the University of Lucerne, Switzerland

Clients

pharmacies - physician networks - federal agencies - service providers’ professional associations - cantons - health insurance companies - health insurance associations - national and cantonal industry associations - pharmaceutical companies - pharmaceutical associations - hospitals - Spitex organisations

Publications

Epi­de­mio­lo­gy of Sick­le Cell Di­se­a­se in Switz­er­land

Sickle cell disease is a rare hereditary blood disorder, in which the red blood cells contain an altered form of haemoglobin (haemoglobin S), causing them to become sickle-shaped, thereby easily clumping together and clogging blood vessels. In this report, we make a rough estimation of the prevalence (frequency of the disease: How many cases are there?) and incidence (new occurrences of the disease: How many cases are added annually?) of sickle cell disease for Switzerland. The existing data for Switzerland are of poor quality, which is why we transfer estimates for Germany to Switzerland. It appears that there can be assumed to be between 200 and 700 existing cases in Switzerland (prevalence) as well as annually 8 to 16 births with sickle cell disease (incidence).

Out­pa­ti­ent ca­re struc­tu­re for me­di­cal la­bo­ra­to­ry ana­ly­ses in Switz­er­land

The FOPH's transAL-2 project is currently revising the analysis list and its tariffs, i.e. the medical laboratory services that are reimbursed by the OKP. Polynomics has analysed outpatient laboratory care in Switzerland with health insurer data as part of transAL-2. The analyses show that the types of hospital laboratory defined in Article 54 KVV do not exist in reality. Overall, contract and hospital laboratories provided medical analyses worth around CHF 1.2 billion at the expense of the OKP in 2019. The heterogeneity between the service providers is very high. For example, the seven largest laboratory chains provided 80% of the gross services of the contract laboratories and the five university hospitals provided 40% of the gross outpatient services of the hospital laboratories. The range of services, measured by the number of different tests, also varies greatly. It can also be seen that the contract laboratories tend to be located in the large cities and regional centres, while the regional distribution of the hospital laboratories is more diverse.

Eco­no­mic im­portance of the in vi­tro dia­gno­stics in­dus­try in Switz­er­land

The Swiss in vitro diagnostics industry plays a central role in public health. Through precise and timely diagnoses, diseases can be detected early and effective treatments can be initiated. Based on a survey of hospital and private laboratories as well as manufacturers and distributors of in vitro diagnostics, Polynomics calculated the economic importance of the industry.   With around 12,000 employees, the industry generated a gross value added of CHF 2.8 billion in 2022. The industry's contribution to coping with the Covid 19 pandemic is also reflected in the value added, which increased by around 17% in 2021 compared to the previous year and declined again in 2022.   The vast majority of companies invest in personnel, capital and research and development. In this context, companies are challenged by the shortage of skilled workers, cost pressure in compulsory health insurance, tariffs and increasing regulation.   Thanks to improved diagnostic accuracy, laboratory diagnostics contributes to reducing the social costs of diseases. It is also an important pillar in the fight against communicable diseases, as the tests for the Sars-CoV-2 virus have impressively shown in recent years.

Angebote

En­er­gy sup­p­ly

He­alth­ca­re

Fi­nan­cial sec­tor

Me­dia and te­le­com­mu­ni­ca­ti­ons

Com­pe­ti­ti­on eco­no­mics

Re­gu­la­to­ry eco­no­mics and re­gu­la­to­ry im­pact ana­ly­sis

Eco­no­mic po­li­cy ana­ly­ses

Da­ta ana­ly­sis

Bench­mar­king / Ef­fi­ci­en­cy ana­ly­sis

Cos­ting and pri­cing

Pre­fe­rence me­a­su­re­ment / Dis­crete choice ex­pe­ri­ment