Companies operating in hazardous environments, such as the oil and gas industry, have a duty of care to ensure and protect the health and well-being of their workers, especially those in remote areas.
This often involves hiring medical contractors to provide healthcare services or taking responsibility for organising these services themselves – both significant challenges, particularly in balancing workforce values with operational constraints.
To address these industry needs, a research team at The University of Queensland, in collaboration with Shell Australia, developed the Remote Health Value Framework (RHVF).
The RHVF is a practical tool designed to evaluate healthcare models for workers in the oil and gas sector. It uses a multi-criteria decision analysis approach to understand preferences and trade-offs among different value domains important to stakeholders.
Led by Dr Anton Pak from UQ’s Centre for the Business and Economics of Health, the team developed the RHVF by conducting interviews and preference elicitation exercises with a mix of health, safety and environment (HSE) team members and non-HSE managers and leaders from Shell Health Australia.
The study found that ‘Improving health outcomes of employees’ was the most valued attribute, accounting for 37.3% of the total utility score. Cost was the least important factor, demonstrating that companies are willing to invest in effective healthcare solutions.
“This framework not only helps companies like Shell make informed decisions, but also sets an example for other industries with remote operations,” Dr Pak said.
“By focusing on value-based healthcare, businesses can enhance worker productivity, meet social responsibilities, and ensure sustainable operations.”
The study is published in the Australian Health Review: https://doi.org/10.1071/AH24111.
For more details on developing and applying value-based healthcare models, please contact Dr Anton Pak, Senior Research Fellow at UQ’s Centre for the Business and Economics of Health at a.pak@uq.edu.au.
