Publications

September 2010 (Revised February 2014)
Case

The Global Sight Initiative

By: Regina E. Herzlinger

How to replicate a 'one of' social entrepreneurship effort: To cure blindness, Seva took the Aravind Eye Hospital & scaled it up to 100 hospitals globally. View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit Organizations; Medical Specialties; Health Care and Treatment; Globalization; Health Industry

September 2012 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Reinventing Brainlab (A)

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Vincent Dessain and Karol Misztal

The management of Germany's Brainlab AG, a leading provider of software-driven oncology and surgery solutions, needs to evaluate strategic options for proceeding without an exclusive hardware partner in its most profitable business segment. View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Medical Specialties; Health Care and Treatment; Information Technology Industry; Health Industry; Germany

05 Jun 2006
Research & Ideas

Using Competition to Reform Healthcare

not performing the surgery at all, and treating the case in a different way. Value may be still greater if preventive care and advice is provided over time so that little or no treatment is needed at all. The relevant business in health... View Details

Keywords: by Michael E. Porter; Health

14 Dec 2020
Research & Ideas

What Does December's Drug-Approval Dash Mean for COVID-19 Vaccines?

Pharmaceutical regulators around the world tend to speed through drug applications in December and before major national holidays, according to new research that might raise questions about COVID-19 vaccines and other treatments under... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Pharmaceutical; Health

October 2024
Supplement

NOW PT (B)

By: George A Riedel, Allison J. Wigen and Dave Habeeb

Pre-Abstract: Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.

Abstract: In fall 2021, a team of students from the HBS Impact Investing Fund considered Neurologic Optimal Wellness Physical... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Medical Specialties; Business Model; Investment; Health Industry; United States

March 2015 (Revised December 2016)
Case

Philips Healthcare Latin America

By: Sunil Gupta

On a beautiful sunny afternoon in October 2013, Daniel Mazon (GMP 15), decided to take some time out of his busy schedule of the General Management Program (GMP) at the Harvard Business School to reflect on his company's situation. Mazon was the Vice President and... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare; Latin America; Organizational Structure; Salesforce Management; Health Care and Treatment; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Latin America

30 Aug 2010
Research & Ideas

Turning Employees Into Problem Solvers

Ten years ago, the Institute of Medicine published To Err is Human, a groundbreaking report that pushed the issue of medical errors into the public spotlight. That we all make mistakes was certainly nothing new: Operational failures occur... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Health

01 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

The Slow, Steady Battle to Fix Cancer Care

After a cancer patient's first 30 days in the American medical system, the bills start stacking up—right next to the pile of paperwork explaining benefits. "It's very hard for patients to match these things up," says Dr. Thomas... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

August 2022 (Revised January 2025)
Case

NOW PT (A): Should We Invest?

By: George A Riedel, Amy Klopfenstein and Mel Martin

In fall 2021, a team of students from the HBS Impact Investing Fund considered Neurologic Optimal Wellness Physical Therapy (NOW PT) for a potential investment. Dr. Banks, the founder of NOW PT, drove to visit patients. She sought an investment from the fund to open a... View Details

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

2012
Working Paper

The Need for (long) Chains in Kidney Exchange

By: Itai Ashlagi, David Gamarnik, Michael A. Rees and Alvin E. Roth

It has been previously shown that for sufficiently large pools of patient-donor pairs, (almost) efficient kidney exchange can be achieved by using at most 3-way cycles, i.e., by using cycles among no more than 3 patient-donor pairs. However, as kidney exchange has... View Details

Keywords: Networks; Complexity; Performance Efficiency; Medical Specialties; Health Care and Treatment; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

Read Now

October 2009 (Revised January 2010)
Case

The Joslin Diabetes Center

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

The Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, Massachusetts is a leading center for diabetes care, clinician training, and research. The incidence of diabetes is rising precipitously worldwide, challenging quality of life with its complications and rapidly accelerating health... View Details

Keywords: Integration; Service Delivery; Medical Specialties; Health Care and Treatment; Outcome or Result; Corporate Finance; Health Industry; Boston

February 2002 (Revised August 2002)
Case

Inhale Therapeutics: Executing and Growing the Business Model

Inhale is about to bring a novel technology to market that uses inhalation to administer drugs that formerly required injection. Inhale must now decide which way to evolve its business model. This will determine the future direction of growth for the company. View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Technological Innovation; Health Care and Treatment; Growth and Development Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

Find at Harvard

01 Mar 2017
Research & Ideas

A Good Thing Happens When Doctors Start Talking to Their Patients

performing costly medical procedures. And that’s a problem, argues Senior Fellow Robert S. Kaplan, the Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School. “It becomes obvious that you can make the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health

27 May 2020
Research & Ideas

What South Korea Teaches the World About Fighting COVID

country innovated in ways to minimize physical contact during the test procedure, such as drive-through and phone booth testing facilities, which protected both medical staff and other patients. These sites motivated people to voluntarily... View Details

Keywords: by Doug J. Chung; Health

29 May 2007
First Look

First Look: May 29, 2007

the group is considering increasing its investment focus to include a broader range of technologies, including emerging technologies (for example, mobile and RFID technologies) and non-information technologies (including medical devices... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

28 Nov 2011
Research & Ideas

Rethinking the Fairness of Organ Transplants

particular concern has policymakers rethinking the current kidney-allocation process, a problem ironically created by improved medical treatments for renal disease. "Because patients are living longer,... View Details

Keywords: by Dennis Fisher; Health

November 2013
Article

Learning from My Successes and from Others' Failures: Evidence from Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery

By: D. KC, B. Staats and F. Gino

Learning from past experience is central to an organization's adaptation and survival. A key dimension of prior experience is whether an outcome was successful or unsuccessful. While empirical studies have investigated the effects of success and failure in... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare; Health Care; Knowledge Work; Attribution Theory; Quality; Success; Medical Specialties; Health Care and Treatment; Failure; Learning; Health Industry