Healix International has launched a new online tool to help employers resume business travel safely in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This product is a layered risk assessment tool designed to provide assessment of the medical and logistical risks posed by individual travel itineraries.
The product – Covid Travel Safe – combines technology with up-to-date medical and risk intelligence.
Healix International chief executive Mike Webb says: “Businesses cannot operate via virtual conference tools forever; business critical travel needs to resume, and for many, that needs to happen now.
“However, employee expectations and legislation have drastically changed in the wake of Covid-19, and organisations across every industry are faced with the difficulty of demonstrating their duty of care obligations to their employees in an incredibly complex operating environment, particularly when it comes to weighing up the risks of international travel.”
The coronavirus pandemic has turned the entire concept of travel risk on its head, he says. Risk is highest in parts of the world that have historically been considered the safest, and these countries account for more than 90 per cent of global business travel.
Webb points out that in addition logistical and operational restrictions across the world are changing rapidly, sometimes on a daily basis. At the same time there is a vast amount of information related to Covid-19 and necessary measures to reduce transmission remains, but much of it remains ambiguous, highly complex and often incomplete.
He says: “Even the most well-resourced organisations are struggling to stay on top of the magnitude of information that is published each day.”
This new tool aims to process much of this information for employers. The first layer generates a medical risk assessment, based on the user answering a number of questions about their intended trip and their own medical history.
The tool provides an automated summary assessment of whether the traveller should proceed with their intended trip. This determination is delivered in the form of a ‘traffic light’ system of red, amber and green.
In the event that the traveller receives a red assessment, risk factors warrant the individual reconsidering their need to travel. ‘green’ indicates that the tool has not identified any major concerns with the intended trip, therefore booking can proceed. In the case of an ‘amber’ result, a follow up consultation with Healix International’s medical and logistical risk teams is recommended.
Healix International’s methodology measures a range of sub-risk factors including pandemic trend and Covid testing access, alongside practical concerns such as travel bans and curfews. Healix’s team of medical and risk professionals will continue to closely monitor the science, government restrictions and logistical risk environments around the world to ensure the information driving this ‘Covid Travel Safe’ is up to date and representative of the pandemic’s evolution.
The second layer of the tool is an optional automated personal assessment for travellers who flag as ‘amber’.
The company’s experts can review the report and provide customised advice on the associated risks. This advice then enables the traveller to make a more informed decision about the medical risks and the potential logistical complications. If required, Healix International can also work with employees to arrange pre-deployment Covid-19 tests and navigate logistical complexities.
Healix says this approach provides the convenience of an easy-to-use online tool, seamlessly integrated with a more personalised expert service.
The ‘Covid Travel Safe’ tool is highly customisable and able to sit on an organisation’s own systems, conveniently integrating the risk assessment and trip approval workflow.