Category Archives: News

Keynote at the Annual Meeting of German Health Economists

 

Gerald Pruckner, head of the Christian Doppler Laboratory “Aging, Health and the Labor Market”, gave this year’s keynote at the annual meeting of the german health economists about economic insights into health prevention and asked the question whether prevention is an efficient health care service or expensive programs without any effect.

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In several studies Gerald Pruckner and co-authors dealt with the role of incentives. They were able to show that financial incentives lead to greater participation in prevention programs, but as soon as the reward is discontinued, the efforts of individuals are waning.
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Further readings:
Hackl, Halla, Hummer and Pruckner 2015, HE “The Effectiveness of Health Screening”
Halla, Pruckner and Schober 2016, JHE “Cost savings of developmental screenings: Evidence from a nationwide program“

NOeG Dissertation Fellowship

The Austrian Economic Association has awarded three NOeG Dissertation Fellowship in 2017 in order to promote junior scientists. The award went to Cornelius Hirsch (WU Vienna), Margit Reischer (Cambridge) and Katrin Zocher (JKU Linz).

7th Health Policy Talk

Diskussion in the Upper Austrian Medical Chamber on the use of deductibles for patient channeling with Josef Pühringer (former governor of Upper Austria), Peter Niedermoser (Upper Austrian Medical Chamber), Herwig Lindner (Medical Chamber of Styria), Michael Müller (SVA Vienna), Engelbert Theurl (University Innsbruck) and Gerald Pruckner (CD Laboratory of Aging, Health and the Labor Market).

(Ärztekammer Oberösterreich)

Young Economist Award für JKU-Student Ahammer

Alexander Ahammer, Doktoratsstudent an der JKU (Economics), ist für seine Arbeit „Hausapotheken und Medikamentenverschreibungen“ ausgezeichnet worden.

Er erhielt den Young Economist Award der Nationalökonomischen Gesellschaft (NÖG). Ahammer und sein Kollege Ivan Zilic haben ein Anreizproblem untersucht, dem sich ÄrztInnen gegenübersehen: Mediziner, die im Rahmen von Hausapotheken Arzneimittel selbst verkaufen, treten sowohl als UnternehmerInnen als auch als BeraterInnen für PatientInnen in Erscheinung. Die Ausgangsfrage lautete: Werden dadurch in Oberösterreich tatsächlich mehr Medikamente verschrieben?

Ahammer und Zilic nutzten für ihre Studie einen neuartigen Ansatz, der erlaubt, zufällig zugeteilte PatientInnen-ÄrztInnen-Paare zu betrachten. Basierend auf administrativen Daten der Oberösterreichischen Gebietskrankenkasse fanden sie einen geringfügig negativen Effekt: MedizinerInnen mit Hausapotheken verschreiben zwar etwas teurere Arzneimittel. Dieser Effekt wird allerdings von einer kleineren Wahrscheinlichkeit, überhaupt etwas zu verschreiben, absorbiert.

Science Talk: Schwerpunkt Vorsorgemedizin – Weniger ist mehr?

The Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy organizes a Science Talk about preventive medicine with the title “Schwerpunkt Vorsorgemedizin – Weniger ist mehr?“. Aula der Wissenschaften, Wollzeile 27a, 1010 Wien, April 24, 2017.  The panel discussion includes:

  • Univ.-Prof. Dr. Manfred Maier (ehem. Vorstand der Abteilung Allgemein- und Familienmedizin am Zentrum für Public Health, Medizinische Universität Wien)
  • Dr. Katharina T. Paul (Senior Research Fellow, FWF – Austrian Science Fund, Institut für Politikwissenschaft, Universität Wien)
  • Univ.-Prof. Dr. Gerald J. Pruckner (Gesundheitsökonom, Universität Linz)
  • DDr. Irmgard Schiller-Frühwirth, MPH (Hauptverband der österreichischen Sozialversicherungsträger)
  • Dr. Martin Sprenger, MPH (Leiter Lehrgang Public Health, Medizinische Universität Graz)

Annual Meeting

At the annual meeting of Linz economists, Karl Lehner, chief executive officer of the Upper Austrian Health and Hospital Public Holding Company, presented some ideas to utilize synergies and overcome avoidable expenditure in the inpatient and outpatient sector.

alex_schlierbachAlso Alexander Ahammer (picture), member of this laboratory, presented his current work about prescription behavior of general practioniers. In this joint work with Ivan Zilic, they try to find out, which financial incentives and channels are shaping the prescription style.

Continuing Excellent Research

On August 26, 2016 the evaluation event of the Christian Doppler (CD) laboratory “Aging, Health and the Labor Market” took place as part of the two-year evaluation in the Science Park of the JKU. The aim of the event was to critically examine the scientific work of the laboratory. Based on the evaluation results, the committee of the CD-society decided the extension of the CD Laboratory.

Initially, Gerald Pruckner and Rudolf Winter Ebmer (Photo) presented an overview of the research focus of the past funding period and the plans for the next five years. Afterwards, each of the four young researchers, who are affiliated with the laboratory, presented one of its projects of the last two years.

Under this link you can find past and current work of the laboratory members and affiliates.

After a brief discussion of the visiting representatives of the senate announced that a recommendation for the continued existence is pronounced. With official decision of the CD-society the CD Lab is extended for at least another three years.