Publications

12 Jul 2004
Research & Ideas

Michael Porter’s Prescription For the High Cost of Health Care

Under positive-sum competition, providers would not attempt to match competitors' every move. Instead, they would develop clear strategies around unique expertise and tailored facilities in those areas where they can become distinctive. Most hospitals would retain a... View Details

Keywords: by Michael E. Porter; Health

May 2007 (Revised September 2007)
Case

Cleveland Clinic

By: Frances X. Frei, Amy C. Edmondson, Christine van Keuren and Eliot Sherman

Cleveland Clinic is consistently ranked among the nation's most eminent hospitals, and for decades has been a leader in pioneering cardiac care. This case evaluates the methods, processes, and personnel that the hospital has cultivated over the years in order to... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Medical Specialties; Innovation and Invention; Service Delivery; Expansion; Health Industry; Cleveland

June 2012 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Great Western Hospital: High-risk Pregnancy Care

By: Michael E. Porter, Emma Stanton and Samuel Takvorian

Great Western Hospital (GWH) is a community hospital in Wiltshire, South West England and one of England's largest maternity providers; responsible for delivering over 9,000 babies per year. The case discusses the efforts of Dr. Harini Narayan, consultant obstetrician... View Details

Keywords: Health Care; Health Care and Treatment; Medical Specialties; Service Delivery; Risk Management

09 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Incentives and Operational Excellence

Whether you're running a major medical supply company or a hole-in-the-wall video store, chances are you know how common operational problems are. If you are the medical supplier, for instance, you probably... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

December 2011 (Revised December 2011)
Case

Cancer Treatment Centers of America: Scaling the Mother Standard of Care

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Matthew Bird

The CEO of a private and growing national network of specialty care hospitals focusing on advanced-stage and complex cancer treatments reflected on the firm's past phase of growth before meeting with the company's Chairman and founder to discuss how to further scale... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Business Growth and Maturation; Medical Specialties; Service Delivery; Innovation and Invention; Health Industry

May 2007 (Revised July 2011)
Case

The West German Headache Center: Integrated Migraine Care

By: Michael E. Porter, Clemens Guth and Elisa M. Dannemiller

Describes the joint efforts of the German health plan KKH and Essen University Hospital to develop an integrated practice unit (IPU), and the West German Headache Center's efforts to improve the quality of migraine care. Provides an overview of the German health care... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Health Care and Treatment; Medical Specialties; Industry Structures; Service Delivery; Integration; Health Industry; Germany

October 2003 (Revised February 2010)
Case

The Duke Heart Failure Program

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer and Laura Feldman

Duke University Health System has for the past five years operated a specialized clinic for the management of congestive heart failure, a very common and costly condition in the surrounding community. Nurse practitioners, whose work is guided by highly specified... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Health Disorders; Medical Specialties; Time Management; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Outcome or Result; Health Industry

January 2010
Teaching Note

The Joslin Diabetes Center (TN)

By: Michael E. Porter, Elizabeth O. Teisberg and Scott Wallace

Teaching Note for [710424]. View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Groups and Teams; Medical Specialties; Programs; Opportunities; Service Delivery; Alliances; Value Creation; Health Industry; Boston

16 Jul 2008
Op-Ed

What Should Employers Do about Health Care?

medications and services used to treat chronic conditions. Companies are tracking the ROIs of these investments in health with good results. These kinds of health and wellness initiatives are a great place... View Details

Keywords: by Michael E. Porter, Elizabeth O. Teisberg & Scott Wallace; Health

27 Oct 2009
First Look

First Look: October 27

Working Papers Money or Knowledge? What Drives Demand for Financial Services in Emerging Markets? (revised) Authors: Shawn Cole, Thomas Sampson, and Bilal Zia Abstract Why is demand for formal financial View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

05 Sep 2012
What Do You Think?

Will Business Management Save US Health Care?

need to achieve "a cooperative effort on the part of physicians, hospitals, and yes, even patients." Milton Recht provided a list of responses: "Increase competition, allow medical business failures, remove guaranteed... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Health

08 Apr 2009
Research & Ideas

Clayton Christensen on Disrupting Health Care

for the number and cost of the services they provide rather than by the value of those services in helping patients. In short, medical professionals make money when their... View Details

Keywords: by Deborah Blagg; Health

29 May 2013
Research & Ideas

Faculty Symposium Showcases Breadth of Research

hosting contests to find solutions to problems ranging from automotive design to cleaning up oil spills. Karim R. Lakhani has spent the past five years working with NASA, Harvard Medical School, and TopCoder to determine the most... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

February 2015
Supplement

MedCath Corporation (C)

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Kevin Schulman and F. Fallon Upke

MedCath is a horizontally integrated chain of heart hospitals that partners with local cardiologists. It claims that its focus leads to better and cheaper results than those of an everything-for-everybody general hospital. Community hospitals generally vehemently... View Details

Keywords: Medical Specialties; Market Entry and Exit; Service Delivery; Conflict and Resolution; Horizontal Integration; Health Industry

September 2002 (Revised January 2013)
Case

MedCath Corporation (A)

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Pete Stavros

MedCath is a horizontally integrated chain of heart hospitals that partners with local cardiologists. It claims that its focus leads to better and cheaper results than those of an everything-for-everybody general hospital. Community hospitals generally vehemently... View Details

Keywords: Medical Specialties; Market Entry and Exit; Service Delivery; Conflict and Resolution; Horizontal Integration; Health Industry

19 Feb 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

Amazoned: Is Any Industry Safe?

discussion on health care management, experts looked to the retail industry as a possible model for delivering medical services more effectively. What's your take on Amazon? Share your thoughts in the reader... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

August 2022
Supplement

NOW PT (B): Should We Invest?

By: George A. Riedel, Amy Klopfenstein and Mel Martin

This (B) case examines the results of the HBS Impact Investment Fund student team’s diligence on Neurologic Optimal Wellness Physical Therapy (NOW PT). After examining Springfield’s demographics, anticipated PT demand, local competition, and NOW PT’s financial... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Investment; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Medical Specialties; Buildings and Facilities; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; North and Central America; United States; Massachusetts