Hamburg Center for Health Economics (HCHE)

📢 Update to Today’s #HCHE Research Seminar Unfortunately, Prof. Ana Costa-Ramón (University of Zurich) has had to cancel her lecture “The Causal Impact of an Anti-Bullying Intervention on Children’s Development” at short notice. We are very grateful to Prof. Benjamin Ukert (Texas A&M University), who agreed to step in on short notice. He will present a study examining how hospitals in Texas respond to unexpected and temporary capacity bottlenecks. Using comprehensive data from 2016–2020, the research shows that sudden patient surges lead to shorter hospital stays, reduced treatment intensity, and shifts in discharge destinations. At the same time, care quality declines, reflected in higher readmission rates and increased in-hospital mortality. The findings highlight that capacity constraints can significantly worsen patient outcomes – even outside crisis periods such as COVID –underscoring the need for efficient resource planning. Prof. Ukert was already a guest at the HCHE #ResearchSeminar about a year ago. His presentation today connects to his earlier work on hospital closures and their impact on admissions and nearby facilities. 🗓 Today, Monday, 1 December 2025, at 16:00 📍 Hamburg Center for Health Economics 🎙 “The Consequences of Hospital Crowding: Evidence from Texas” You can find the full program of our seminar series on our website: uhh.de/sj53h. Guests are welcome – please register online. The lecture will be held in English. #HealthEconomics #HealthcareResearch #HospitalManagement #HealthPolicy #HealthcareSystems #PublicHealth #HospitalCrowding

In der Studie "Climate anxiety in Germany" (Public Health, 2022) von Prof. André Hajek und Prof. Hans-Helmut König zeigen die beiden #HCHE-Wissenschaftler, dass Klimaemotionen insbesondere bei Jugendlichen stark ausgeprägt sind. Befragt wurden über 3.000 Personen: Viele gaben an, Klimaangst, Ohnmacht und Frust zu erleben – teilweise stärker als Ängste vor Krieg oder Inflation. Die Forschung zeigt, dass solche Klimaemotionen nicht nur individuell, sondern auch sozial wirksam sind: Wer sich isoliert fühlt, leidet stärker unter psychischer Belastung. Gleichzeitig können positive Interventionen wie die Förderung von Selbstwirksamkeit, lösungsorientierte Narrative oder aktiv klimafreundliches Handeln Ängste reduzieren, Resilienz stärken und motivieren, sich konstruktiv einzubringen. Die Studie unterstreichen die Bedeutung wissenschaftlich fundierter Strategien zur Unterstützung betroffener Gruppen und betont, dass Klimaemotionen sowohl Herausforderung als auch Ansatzpunkt für Handlung und Prävention darstellen. #Klimawandel #ClimateChange #Klimaangst #healtheconomics Weitere Infos: https://lnkd.in/eZdCqxDq

Last week, we had the pleasure of welcoming numerous national and international researchers to the XVI Workshop of the dggö - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie e.V. Committee Allocation and Distribution at the #HCHE in Hamburg. Over two days, participants engaged in insightful presentations and discussions on topics such as health inequality, provider motivation, hospital regulation, and innovation in healthcare. On Friday, 14 November 2025 after a Welcome by host Johanna Kokot, our guest Owen O'Donnell (Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam) opened the conference with his keynote on 👉 “Health Inequality Aversion: Magnitudes, Motivations and Consequences”. Sessions on Provider Motivation and Provider Behavior followed with contributions by: ▫️Esra Eren Bayindir (University of Hamburg) "Hospital competition and quality of care" (Discussant: Jan Priebe) ▫️Burkhard Hehenkamp (Paderborn University): "Sustainable hospital regulation: Welfare implications of digital treatments" (Discussant: Mathias Kifmann) ▫️Anna-Theresa Renner (TU Vienna): "Technological innovation and healthcare (in)efficiency: Evidence from weight-loss drugs and bariatric surgery" (Discussant: Johanna Kokot) ▫️Joachim Dahl Steensbjerre (University of Southern Denmark): "Rocket Man or Common Man: Decomposition of Socioeconomic Inequality in Mortality After St-Elevated Myocardial Infarction" (Discussant: Lars Schwettmann) The first day ended with Blitz Talks & Poster Presentations by Lorenzo Santini, Alexander Fauser, Malte Scheebaum and Pauline Mente and a joint dinner in central Hamburg. On Saturday, 15 November 2025, Sessions on Hospital Competition, Regulation & Quality and Innovation & Incentives were scheduled with presentations by: ▫️Lucy Poole (University of Southern Denmark): "Motivated to care? The importance of provider motivation for healthcare quality" (Discussant: Daniel Wiesen) ▫️Julia Hanxleden (University of Hamburg): "The Role of Intrinsic Motivation in Healthcare Quality: Insights from a new Experimental Task" (Discussant: Nadja Kairies-Schwarz) ▫️Jan Dyczmons (Heinrich Heine University): "Provider preferences for quality-adjusted alternative payment models for a new integrated type 2 diabetes and periodontitis care model" (Discussant: Christian Hans) ▫️Anna K. Stirner (University of Cologne): "Understanding Physicians’ Use of Decision Support: Evidence From a Behavioral Experiment" (Discussant: Malte Griebenow) 🤝 A heartfelt thank you to all presenters, discussants, and participants for their valuable contributions and inspiring discussions! We are already looking forward to the XVII Workshop next year! #HealthEconomics #HealthPolicy #HealthcareResearch #PublicHealth #HealthServicesResearch #ScientificExchange #ProviderIncentives #HospitalCompetition #HealthcareInnovation #HealthcareQuality

💡 Focus on Supplementary Health Services: What Drives Patients, Physicians, and Insurers? For many patients, supplementary services make the difference – when choosing a health insurer or during treatment at the doctor’s office. But what actually shapes these decisions – price, quality, or added value? At last week’s #HCHE Research Results live event, we presented our latest research on this very topic. More than 100 participants from across the healthcare sector joined us, along with our guest speakers Dr. Klaus Reinhardt, President of the German Medical Association and Andreas Storm, CEO of DAK-Gesundheit. 🔍 Key research insights: 👉 Health insurance switching is mainly driven by contribution rates, but the quality of supplementary services also matters. 👉 Healthier individuals are more likely to switch insurers. 👉 Physicians do not systematically improve care when patients purchase supplementary services – but they tend to show less engagement when such services are declined. These findings highlight the delicate balance between price, quality, and behavior in our healthcare system. Prof. Dr. Petra Steinorth (#HCHE / University of Hamburg Business School) underlined in her presentation that differences in the quality and range of services offered by statutory health insurance funds coexist and mutually influence each other. Prof. Dr. Johanna Kokot (#HCHE / Universität Hamburg) presented the results of an experiment showing the extent to which physicians and patients adjust their behavior in response to the availability of supplementary services. Both our speakers and guests agreed that, in competition, price plays a stronger role than quality. Find more information about the research results in the presentations from the event: Quality Competition in Statutory Health Insurance: https://uhh.de/1jvbw Supplementary Services in Medical Practices: https://uhh.de/54h8c #HealthEconomics #Research #Healthcare #HealthInsurance #SupplementaryServices #AcademicResearch #HealthPolicy 📷 Claudia Höhne

Our PhD Janice Schönfeld presented her latest work at the University of Calgary (Canada), where she is currenttly completing her research stay. Well done, Janice!

🚨 What Happens to Population Health When the Doctors Leave?🚨 Dr. Stefan Sliwa Ruiz (Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg) investigates the public health consequences of a large-scale doctor exodus in Brazil. His study reveals: 🔹 Lasting restrictions in chronic care 🔹 Quick recovery in urgent care 🔹 No measurable deterioration in health outcomes Supply-side adjustments and demand shifts helped absorb the shock – an important insight into health system resilience. Join us for his talk: 📍 Hamburg Center for Health Economics 🗓 Monday, November 3, 2025 | 🕓 16:00 CEST 🎤 #HCHE Research Seminar: "What Happens to Population Health When the Doctors Leave? Evidence from the Exit of Cuban Doctors in Brazil" 🔗 Full seminar program and registration: https://uhh.de/kcrp6 #HealthEconomics #PublicHealth #GlobalHealth #DoctorMigration #healthcareshock #HealthcarePolicy

🔍 Learning from Peers – The Effects of Quality Clusters on Opioid Prescribing in General Practice: Dr. Benjamin Chibuye, PhD Chibuye is guest at the #HCHE Research Seminar. In 2018, Quality Clusters were implemented in Denmark to improve the quality of medical care in primary care practices by leveraging peer effects among general practitioners. Benjamin Chibuye of the Syddansk Universitet - University of Southern Denmark investigated in particular: ·      Can peer effects among Danish general practitioners (GPs) participating in a quality clusters initiative, be leveraged to improve the quality of their patients’ filled opioid prescriptions? ·      We employ a difference-in-differences (DiD) design and exploit the variation in the timing of quality clusters discussing addictive medicines as a topic to answer this question. ·      Our results suggest improvements in the quality of patients’ filled opioid prescriptions, with the substantiative effects largely accruing for redemptions of certain types of opioids (short-acting), when filled by certain types of patients (those using opioids long-term). Benjamin presents his findings on Mon, 20 Ociotber 2025 at 16.00 Hrs at the Research Seminar at the Hamburg Center for Health Economics. Guests are welcome, please register on our website: https://uhh.de/4rqdt. The lecture is in English. #HealthEconomics #Opioids #GeneralPractice #PeerEffects #QualityClusters #PublicHealth 

And another summa cum laude – excellent work, Fabian Grünwald! Congrats on the successful defense of your dissertation “Exploring Pharmaceutical Policy and Access in Europe: Three Essays on Marketing Authorization and Regulation”! 🎓 🍾 🏆  We are proud of you! #HCHE

Summa cum laude! Huge congrats to Carolin Brinkmann on the successful defense of your dissertation, “Essays on Health Economic Evaluation, Well-being, and Willingness to Pay Measurement”! You have done very well! The #HCHE team is proud of you! 🎓 🥂 👏

Zusatzleistungen in der medizinischen Versorgung – Was bedeuten diese Angebote für Krankenkassen, Arztpraxen und Patient:innen? 🎙 HCHE Research Results live: Darf’s ein bisschen mehr sein? 📅 6. November 2025, 17:00 Uhr, Hamburg Center for Health Economics 📍 Kostenlos, Anmeldung erforderlich Ob in der Arztpraxis oder im Angebot der Krankenversicherung – Zusatzleistungen begegnen uns im Gesundheitswesen häufig. Welche Reaktionen diese Angebote in Bezug auf Nachfrage oder Verhalten auslösen, stellen Forschende des #HCHE vor: ➡️ Begünstigen Zusatzleistungen die Wechselbereitschaft zu einer anderen Krankenkasse? ➡️ Beeinflusst die Annahme bzw. Ablehnung kostenpflichtiger Zusatzleistungen die Beziehung zwischen Ärzt:innen und Patient:innen? Nach zwei Kurzvorträgen diskutieren wir am 6. November diese und weitere Fragen live mit unseren Gästen: dem Präsidenten der Bundesärztekammer Dr. Klaus Reinhardt und dem Vorsitzenden des Vorstands der DAK-Gesundheit Andreas Storm. Mit dabei: 👩🔬 Prof. Dr. Petra Steinorth 👩🏫 Prof. Dr. Johanna Kokot 👨⚕️ Dr. Klaus Reinhardt (Präsident der Bundesärztekammer) 💼 Andreas Storm (Vorstandsvorsitzender DAK-Gesundheit) 🎤 Moderation: Prof. Dr. Jonas Schreyögg 👉 Jetzt kostenlos anmelden: https://uhh.de/5a9xm