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Unknown influences of life-and-death decisions

PhD student Giovanni Empel.

In the world of medicine, decisions often have life-and-death consequences. This is a truth that PhD student Dr Giovanni Empel, from Monash Business School's Centre for Health Economics, understands from personal experience.

As a medically trained doctor, he has long been fascinated by the complex motivations and factors driving how physicians make their healthcare choices.

“On one hand, they have to take care of patients – and their primary motivation is to do good and provide quality of care – but they are also affected by self-interest,” he said.

“To my mind, this creates tension, and that is something I have always been interested in.”

Stepping out of the hospital and into academia was a natural progression for the physician-turned-scholar.

“When I was studying medicine in Indonesia, I was concerned by the common practice of pharmaceutical representatives going (directly) to doctors to sell their products,” he said.

“That was the moment I began to question the effect of external influences on how physicians make their decisions and the impact this may have on the standard of healthcare they provide. It motivated me to want to find out more.”

His new research dissects how doctors balance ethical considerations and practical realities when making clinical judgments.

It aims to quantify the impact of these decisions on performance, specifically in the context of treatment for heart attacks, which remain a leading cause of death worldwide.

Dr Empel said his work focuses on an under-researched area.

“There are not many sources of solid data that investigates this problem, or how this translates into performance, and that has been challenging,” he said.

Research aims to help doctors deliver better healthcare

At the heart of his research lies a powerful mission: to empower physicians to deliver the highest level of care.

“The primary aim of the work is to achieve a better and more consistent quality of healthcare that will ultimately save lives,” he said.

Dr Empel’s supervisor, Senior Lecturer from the Centre for Health Economics Johannes Kunz, said the work had the potential to impact healthcare on a global scale.

“Rapidly increasing healthcare costs and their mismatch with productivity are major policy concerns for governments all around the world,” he said.

“By bridging health, economics and management subjects, Giovanni Empel is addressing these questions with unmatched granularity.”

Reflecting on his experience at Monash Business School, Dr Empel acknowledged the supportive environment that had nurtured his growth.

“The Centre for Health Economics is a very close community,” he said.

“It’s lively - we ask each other questions and help each other when we have problems.

“As a PhD student, it’s one thing to learn from your course, but to be able to also learn from your peers in the room is invaluable.”