Delivering the New Gold Standard in Compensable Medicine

To address the challenges faced by healthcare providers treating compensable patients, we conducted interviews with a diverse range of medical practitioners from various disciplines, including General Practitioners (GPs), Physiotherapists, and Psychologists, from all around Australia. This group also had varying opinions and experiences working with and treating compensable patients from schemes such as WorkCover and TAC.

We used semi-structured interviews and storyboards as a way to test the hypothesis of a post-graduate Masters program would be valuable. These insights were used to refine the Masters program’s value proposition, ensuring it meets their needs more effectively. We also explored and tested new ways to improve access to compensable medical knowledge and professional development.

To further understand these opportunities, we developed personas representing the different healthcare providers who were interested in elevating their compensable knowledge. These personas helped us frame ”how might we” questions, which were tested during a co-design workshop with a group of practitioners and representatives from WorkSafe, TAC, Comcare, PIEF and health providers working in advisory roles. From this workshop, the ideas and concepts were refined into three additional services:

• Headstart: A paid internship program for allied health students to gain hands on experience in compensable health practices
• CompMe: An app designed to support rural practitioners who often have less access to support and resources to treat compensable patients confidently
• CompCON: A conference for case managers and healthcare providers to collaborate on compensable health to foster better relationships

Our recommendation for the Masters program pilot was endorsed by PIEF. Monash University is developing this unit, scheduled to launch in 2025.

This project aims to set a new standard in compensable health care by improving access to and methods of knowledge sharing in compensable health and medicine, tailored to the needs of healthcare providers.

By engaging directly with GPs, physiotherapists, and psychologists, we identified their daily challenges and knowledge gaps related to navigating and treating compensable patients. This led us to design 3 additional/novel services that will address these challenges, align with personal and professional motivations, and cater to varied learning preferences and requirements. Our goal is to enhance access to compensable medical knowledge and create diverse pathways for professional development throughout a healthcare provider’s career.

Insights from our research helped us create personas that highlighted new ways to foster knowledge sharing among practitioners. These personas were a tool to gain stakeholder support for exploring these ideas. This got stakeholders on board with our new concepts, ensuring our services met specific needs and encouraged interdisciplinary knowledge sharing.

All four services designed offer high-quality user experiences tailored to healthcare providers, aiming to deliver best-practice treatment. These services expand access to the Masters degree and foster continuous professional development aligned with their community needs, creating a comprehensive growth ecosystem and addressing the urgent need for specialised compensable health training.

The pilot core unit is being developed by Monash University in partnership with PIEF and will serve as a benchmark for future training programs in compensable medicine, aiming to elevate healthcare providers’ skills nationwide and improve care standards for compensable patients. By focusing on the unique needs of these patients, our project highlights the transformative impact of a targeted knowledge network on healthcare delivery.

People who experience mental or physical injuries at work or in transport accidents often face poorer health outcomes and slower recovery compared to other patients recovering from the same injury. These individuals are at greater risk of developing additional health issues, largely due to the complex psychosocial factors involved in their treatment.

Healthcare providers can struggle to overcome these challenges due to a lack of specific compensable knowledge and effective support strategies for their patients. Traditionally, efforts to enhance treatment and up skill in compensable knowledge have been fragmented, occurring independently at state level and focusing primarily on specific disciplines without collaborative, nationwide integration.

The four services we have designed as part of this project stand out as they specifically addressing these gaps on a national scale, identifying common themes across states and compensation schemes, and considering the diverse needs of various healthcare providers.

Our research has led to the development of a unique pilot unit in Compensable Medicine and Health. Unlike existing post-graduate studies in Occupational Health and Medicine, we believe this program is a world first as it focuses specifically on treating compensable injuries, not just workplace health or impairment assessments.

Human-centred design has been central to this project, shaping insights, recommendations, and additional services. Feedback from over 20 engaged healthcare providers has ensured that our solutions are tailored to meet their individual needs while being scalable across diverse national cohorts and systems.

The research and proposal received strong endorsement after being presented at multiple PIEF board meetings, which included government representatives and major insurers from across Australia. This national recognition underscores the project’s significance and broad support for our collaborative design approach.

People with compensable injuries often come from vulnerable demographics, such as those with low socio-economic backgrounds, pre-existing mental health conditions, immigrants with limited English proficiency, and others with intersecting needs. Equipping healthcare providers with better access to tools and knowledge that will support these individuals will have a profound social and ethical impact.

Improving recovery outcomes for these patients not only benefits their health but also alleviates financial pressures on social insurance schemes, potentially preventing restrictive measures on the benefits that are offered. This project aims to enhance recovery outcomes, contributing to the financial stability of these schemes and ensuring continued service availability.

And with the healthcare system under constant strain from burnout and staffing shortages, the successful pilot and eventual scale-up of the Masters program could build a more specialised workforce capable of handling complex cases more effectively. This would help alleviate systemic stress and improve overall healthcare outcomes for everyone, not just compensable patients.

The refined Masters program, along with the introduction of the three new service offerings, expands the project’s impact across the entire career lifecycle of healthcare professionals — from students to seasoned practitioners — dramatically increasing the reach and effectiveness of these new standards in compensable medicine.