Publications

November 1995 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Massachusetts General Hospital: CABG Surgery (A)

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and James Weber

A cross-functional team at Massachusetts General Hospital tries to reengineer the service delivery process (the "care path") for heart bypass surgery (CABG) in order to shorten hospital stays (and lower costs) while maintaining/enhancing the quality of care provided. View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Medical Specialties; Business Processes; Mission and Purpose; Product Positioning; Product Marketing; Management Practices and Processes; Customer Satisfaction; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Fair Value Accounting; Ethics; Health Industry; Health Industry; Massachusetts

25 Feb 2025
Blog Post

Making a broader impact with multiple disciplines: Santosh Iyer (MBA 2020)

platform dedicated to revolutionizing health care innovation through experiential learning. Autonomous surgical robots, health care artificial... View Details

04 Mar 2015
News

Market-Based Solutions to Antitrust Threats — The Rejection of the Partners Settlement

Teaching

Overview

By: Regina E. Herzlinger

Course Requirements

Students are required to prepare a business plan, which employs the framework of this course, to explore an entrepreneurial opportunity in health care, and to evaluate their classmates' plans.

Career Focus

For... View Details

May 2014 (Revised January 2015)
Case

Vaxess Technologies, Inc.

By: John A. Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez

In February 2014, Michael Schrader, chief executive of Vaxess Technologies, Inc., was assessing the startup health care company's 2014 marketing plan. On December 31st, 2013, Vaxess had obtained an exclusive license to a series of patents for a silk protein technology... View Details

Keywords: Vaccine; Cold Chain; Antigen; Temperature Controlled; Developing Markets; Immunization; Health Care and Treatment; Health Pandemics; Global Strategy; Supply Chain; Health; Health Industry; Health Industry

20 Sep 2010
News

RX for Change

April 2012
Article

Addressing the Leadership Gap in Medicine: Residents' Need for Systematic Leadership Development Training

By: Daniel Mark Blumenthal, Kenneth Richard Lee Bernard, Jordan David Bohnen and Richard Bohmer

All clinicians take on leadership responsibilities when delivering care. Evidence suggests that effective clinical leadership yields superior clinical outcomes. However, few residency programs systematically teach all residents how to lead, and many clinicians are... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Service Delivery; Leadership Development; Training; Programs; Practice

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

01 Mar 2018
News

New Marketplace Survey: Payers and Providers Remain Far Apart

Article

Medicine's Continuous Improvement Imperative

By: Robert S. Huckman and Ananth Raman

Maintaining quality and spurring innovation have long been central objectives of the US health care system. Like other health care professionals, physicians are challenged to minimize the likelihood of errors that could harm patients while simultaneously making efforts... View Details

Keywords: Medicine; Continuous Improvement; Toyota Production System; Alcoa; Health Care and Treatment; Performance Improvement; Health Industry

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Research Summary

Overview

Selected current projects: Shared Decision Making and Patient Engagement in Orthopaedic Surgery Identification of Risk Factors for Revision Surgery Following Primary THA and TKA Integrated Care Delivery and Episode of Care Payments in Hip and Knee Arthroplasty The... View Details

September 2020
Case

Walmart Health: Scaling During a Pandemic

By: Robert S. Huckman, Yoonjin Min and Marissa Thiel

Amidst the onset of COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Marcus Obsborne, Vice President for Health and Wellness Transformation at Walmart was planning to scale its new health care clinic business, Walmart Health, to additional locations in Georgia and beyond.... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Health Pandemics; Health; Service Delivery; Growth and Development Strategy; Health Industry; United States; Arkansas; Georgia (state, US); Texas

July 2022 (Revised February 2024)
Teaching Note

The DivaCup: Navigating Distribution and Growth

By: Ayelet Israeli

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 519-055. When the mother-daughter founders of DivaCup set out with a mission to disrupt the menstrual care industry with an innovative product form, they initially struggled to gain legitimacy and convince retailers to carry their unique... View Details

March 2019 (Revised April 2021)
Case

The DivaCup: Navigating Distribution and Growth

By: Ayelet Israeli

When the mother-daughter founders of DivaCup set out with a mission to disrupt the menstrual care industry with an innovative product form, they initially struggled to gain legitimacy and convince retailers to carry their unique product. Fifteen years later, the... View Details