Jeff Richardson

Professor Richardson's research has focused upon the innovation of ideas, new methods and areas of theoretical and policy controversies and issues in current health policy. Recent research has concentrated upon measurement of the quality of life and measurement of social benefits. Jeff Richardson is a Professor in the Faculty of Business and Economics at Monash University and Foundation Director of its Centre for Health Economics, an Adjunct Associate of Stanford University and Honorary Professor at the University of South Australia. He presently holds a 5 year NHMRC Professorial Fellowship. His published work (summarised below) has included (a) the first large scale Australian econometric studies of Medicare, including the first modelling of the hospital sector, supplier induced demand, doctor practice and incomes, mortality and price elasticity; (b) the first Australian Cost Utility Analyses (with Prof Jane Hall), the first multi attribute utility instrument for measuring health related quality of life (AQoL-4D, 6D, 7D and 8D); (c) the first Australian study of technology diffusion; (d) the first Australian study of doctor growth and distribution; (e) the construction of an instrument for measuring the preference for sharing versus cost effectiveness; (f) the construction of a Relative Social Willingness to Pay metric. He has created the AQoL website with instruments and algorithms for use of the four AQoL Qualify of Life instruments plus supporting documentation. These are universally accessible free of charge and have resulted in the adoption of the instrument in 232 (known) projects to date across 15 countries, including projects in China and India. Theoretical contributions include the areas of supplier induced demand, doctor distribution, optimal alcohol consumption, measurement theory, the use of psychometric methods in the modelling of quality of life and the development of a ‘fairness based’ framework for economic evaluation. Each of these has resulted in publications. Richardson was the Chair of the 2003 Inquiry into the Tasmanian Health System (the Richardson Report), president of the Health Economics Society for 7 years. In 2011 he completed a report (with B Richardson) on the reform of dental care for the Brotherhood of St Laurence. He was a member of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Remuneration Tribunal for 16 years and in 2007 commissioned as joint adjudicator in a funding dispute between the ACT and NSW Health Departments.