Interview: Dr Joseph Babicki, Chief Medical Officer, Collinson
Crafting solutions for the healthcare industry: Dr Joseph Babicki talks to us about healthcare delivery, claims platforms, and the challenges facing insurers
You have been with Collinson for over a year. What are the main challenges of your role?
A resurgence of travel, particularly among an older demographic with pre-existing health conditions, presents both exciting opportunities and unforeseen challenges for the travel and healthcare industries. This trend, marked by an increased interest in exploring exotic destinations, necessitates close attention to some key areas.
Many travellers with multiple comorbidities lack full comprehension of their travel insurance policies and harbour unrealistic expectations regarding healthcare accessibility when away from home. This highlights the need for targeted educational campaigns and enhanced transparency from travel providers to bridge these knowledge gaps and ensure realistic risk assessments.
The uncertainties created by Covid-19 have resulted in many experienced agency flight medical staff leaving the industry for more stable employment. This loss of skilled and flexible personnel is critical for the medical assistance industry, as it directly impacts response times. This challenge is further compounded by the effect that the pandemic has had on flight availability, making it even more difficult to arrange repatriations.
Domestic healthcare systems have significant capacity constraints with ICU [intensive care unit] bed occupancy exceeding 80% in many regions. This bottleneck adds to the challenge of timely repatriation. Enhanced communication and coordination with the local healthcare facilities and travel provider are essential to manage these logistical hurdles.
What are the primary responsibilities of your current role and which aspects do you enjoy most?
As the Chief Medical Officer, I oversee the intricacies of healthcare delivery across our operational platform. My responsibilities encompass a comprehensive spectrum, from ensuring robust governance and service excellence to spearheading effective responses to the evolving medical landscape.
Each day presents a fresh canvas, an opportunity to collaborate with my outstanding team in crafting solutions to intricate medical challenges and continually sharpen my adaptive problem-solving skills. While the responsibility is indeed considerable, the reward of being able to provide support in a time of need, is an unparalleled source of professional fulfilment.
In essence, I wear many hats – clinician, strategist, diplomat, and cultural navigator. But through it all, the unwavering thread that binds my passion is the conviction that healthcare transcends borders. Every person deserves the same meticulous attention to detail and unwavering dedication and that is a noble pursuit worthy of our commitment to deliver excellence.
Independent specialist research has found that many customers prefer to manage their interactions digitally, i.e. without speaking to a human
How is Collinson using new technology to better serve its customers around the world?
Collinson have developed a market-leading online claims platform that allows customers to register their claims any time, day or night. In many cases, customers will receive a same-day automated claim outcome, and this includes outpatient reimbursement claims. In addition, Collinson have collaborated with Air Doctor to launch a digital outpatient service that is driving a net promoter score (NPS) of 80 plus, as well as delivering operational cost savings. We believe this allows our experienced assistance team to focus on more complex inpatient cases and repatriations as well as deliver a bespoke customer service.
How did Collinson adjust during the pandemic, and are there any permanent changes that have been incorporated into the business?
The world changed in the face of the pandemic, and we changed with it. We swiftly pivoted to a hybrid work model two weeks before lockdowns, ensuring seamless service continuity for our customers. This hybrid model thrives today, empowering both our team and their productivity. But we didn’t just adapt; we evolved.
As well as adapting products to offer coverage for Covid-19 in terms of hospitalisation and cancellation, we streamlined our online claims process, making it quicker and easier to recover costs. Partnering with legal experts, we navigated the complexities of EU261 [European Union regulation regarding flight delays and cancellations] and PTR [UK package travel] regulations to secure refunds for customers denied by airlines and tour operators. This included crafting Covid-19-specific letter templates and managing independent accommodation bookings with meticulous care.
Our commitment to service extended beyond the digital realm. We transformed our office into a Covid-19 safe haven, complete with an online desk booking system, and tackled customer anxieties head-on by adding dedicated Covid-19 FAQs to our website. In the face of adversity, we didn’t just stand firm; we adapted. We innovated, we protected, and we empowered – proving that when the world throws us into uncertainty, we provide stability.
You work closely with over 1,400 banks and 90 airlines. How important is it to choose the right partners, and what are these choices based on?
Choosing the right network partners requires a delicate balance between customer wellbeing, cost control, and long-term value alignment. While cost savings are attractive, our ‘patient first, costs second’ philosophy prioritises local support quality, response speed, and true 24/7 availability.
We meticulously assess providers on their ability to streamline the customer journey and ensure full global coverage. Collaboration is key. We actively partner with network providers who share our forward-thinking vision to jointly elevate the customer experience through innovative initiatives.
Our cost analysis, however, goes beyond simple discounts. We scrutinise average treatment costs to safeguard against overbilling and identify facilities requiring improvement. Together with our network partners, we devise strategies to address overcharging, overtreatment, and inadequate customer support.
Ultimately, brand values and customer ethos reign supreme. Our commitment to fair outcomes for all customers guides every facet of our business, and we seek partners who resonate with this philosophy. Building true partnerships, exceeding mere client/supplier relationships, hinges on shared long-term goals and a collaborative spirit.
How have geopolitical changes influenced the way you work, if at all, and how do these challenges influence air medical transport as a whole?
While our customers typically travel to stable, well-established destinations, we’re equipped to handle unforeseen situations. We communicate directly with customers and, if necessary, the [UK’s] Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office to review all options and prioritise their safety.
Although the pandemic introduced complexities related to varying entry requirements, geopolitical events haven’t significantly impacted our core business. However, ongoing conflict in Israel/Gaza necessitates tailored measures for customer travel, especially regarding medical repatriation. Given geopolitical instability right now, we will continue to monitor and adapt our assistance and repatriation approach as well as share ideas and experiences with industry colleagues to ensure we can react swiftly and appropriately.
Do you think there is a feeling among the payers in the industry that it is better to treat the patient in situ than to use an air ambulance due to rising costs?
I do not believe so. Our medical response strategy prioritises optimal patient care. Whenever feasible and medically appropriate, we favour onsite treatment or expeditious transfer to a designated centre of excellence rather than opting for immediate air ambulance evacuation, which, while rapid, may not always be the most prudent course of action.
We meticulously assess local resources and transportation suitability in every case. Should onsite care prove inadequate or safe transfer to a suitable facility impossible, we will expeditiously arrange air ambulance evacuation. While both medical and aviation costs have increased due to global economic pressures, our unwavering commitment to patient health and safety remains the cornerstone of our decision-making process, and we continually strive to strike the optimal balance between responsible resource allocation and ensuring the highest level of care for our clients.
While our customers typically travel to stable, well-established destinations, we're equipped to handle unforeseen situations
What do you think are the major challenges right now facing international insurers?
Unforeseen events like pandemics, natural disasters, and airport disruptions are a growing reality in global travel, creating surge demand and service disruption risks. We proactively address this by:
- Continuously refining our online platform to handle unpredictable volume spikes
- Expanding our team capacity with contingency headcount
beyond forecasts - Establishing a dedicated 24/7 ‘large event’ team to manage critical situations outside core hours.
Forecasting has become increasingly complex. Changes in travel patterns due to Covid-19 and the increasing rise of peak season global events, like wildfires and air traffic control issues, can further complicate demand predictions.
For travel insurers, the focus shifts from just medical and repatriation cost management to adapting to travel disruption caused by geopolitical and climate change factors. This necessitates:
- Evolving product offerings and pricing models to reflect new risks
- Optimising claims management, embracing digital and parametric approaches
- Monitoring regulatory responses to increased demand and how insurance claims interact with other forms of industry cost recovery, like cancellation guarantees.
Do you think insurers make sufficient use of commercial medical escort services? If not, why not?
From my experience of working with many other organisations I would say yes. Certainly, at Collinson, we believe that prioritising commercial medical escorts over air ambulances offers several key benefits for repatriating patients. Firstly, commercial flights provide a more familiar and comfortable environment compared to the specialised confines of an air ambulance. This can be immensely valuable for patients who have just undergone medical treatment in a foreign healthcare system, easing potential anxieties and promoting a sense of normalcy as they journey home.
While air ambulances remain crucial for critical cases, prioritising commercial medical escorts for stable patients offers a more comfortable and familiar repatriation experience.
If you could change anything in the international medical assistance sector, what would it be?
A better understanding from the insurers as to the different pressures that face the assistance teams. Whilst premiums, cover limits and sales are at the fore, assistance departments globally deal with distraught patients on an hourly basis, which brings the service we provide to life. We make a difference in a live environment to thousands of customers every year; some of them are in extreme, life-changing situations. To hear the work that goes on during these conversations would be an education for anyone who has not had any exposure to assistance services. We are very fortunate at Collinson in that our insurance division does understand this through working closely with the assistance team and are very supportive of the trickier decisions the assistance teams have to make, even if there is no specific provision. Collinson has developed and implemented a set of standards which go above and beyond regulatory requirements. These standards reflect the strong ethics and integrity of our family-run business. This ‘insurance philosophy’ underpins our culture. It guides and supports us to always ‘do the right thing’.