Publications

Read Now

June 2014 (Revised September 2014)
Case

Johnson & Johnson: The Promotion of Wellness

By: John A. Quelch and Carin-Isabel Knoop

To create the world's healthiest workforce, diversified health care giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) mandated participation in its "Culture of Health" program globally, customized by location, culture, and specific health needs to offer prevention-focused education,... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare; Employee Motivation; Transformation; Ethics; Health; Human Resources; Leadership; Management; Personal Development and Career; Problems and Challenges; Strategy; Health Industry; Health Industry; Health Industry; North and Central America; Middle East; Latin America; Europe; Asia

October 22, 2015
Article

The Mayo Clinic Model for Running a Value-Improvement Program

By: Robert S. Kaplan, Derek A. Haas, Richard A. Helmers, March Rucci and Meredith Brady

Applying time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) in health care cannot be delegated to the finance function. The most successful implementations have had strong executive support, exceptional clinical leaders, and dedicated, multi-disciplinary project teams. The... View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Activity Based Costing and Management; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry

Register to Read

January 2024
Background Note

Evaluating Innovations in the Organization of Primary Care: What Type of Innovation Is It and How Well Does It Align with the Six Factors?

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and James Wallace

How can we evaluate if innovative health care ventures can do good—benefit society—and do well—become financially viable? This question is the topic of the first module in the Innovating in Health Care course book.

This note and "Health Stop (A): What Type... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Health Care and Treatment; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Mission and Purpose; Alignment; Health Industry

The Covid-19 epidemic response has shown that the U.S. is blessed with heroic physicians and other health care providers, researchers, and facilities. But it has also revealed a health care system that was woefully unprepared for the surge of pandemic patients. In the... View Details

February 2000
Background Note

Medicine, Incentive Compensation, and the Law

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer and Bruce L. Hall

Summarizes legal issues in structuring a health care incentive plan, such as tax laws and federal regulations. Draws from an interview conducted with a New England lawyer in October 1999. View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Compensation and Benefits; Law; Health Care and Treatment; Taxation; Laws and Statutes; Health Industry

August 2014 (Revised February 2021)
Case

Hospital for Special Surgery (A)

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Stacy Schwartz

Hospital for Special Surgery, a focused factory for orthopedics and joint disease, is contemplating various growth options: further growth in the United Kingdom's National Health Services, management of hospitals in the United States, and/or hospital consulting.... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Nonprofit Organizations; Growth and Development Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Expansion; Health Industry; United Kingdom; United States

August 2016 (Revised August 2016)
Teaching Note

Intrapreneurship at DaVita Healthcare Partners

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Matthew Preble

DaVita Healthcare Partners Inc. (DaVita) is one of the U.S.'s leading dialysis providers, a process whereby persons with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are connected to a machine that performs the functions of a healthy kidney. Kent Thiry, DaVita's CEO, has expanded... View Details

Keywords: Intrapreneurship; Entrepreneurial Organizations; Startup Management; Startup; Strategic Positioning; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Corporate Strategy; Business Startups; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Health Industry; United States

February 1999 (Revised November 1999)
Case

HealthPartners

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer and Nancy Dean Beaulieu

Presents the efforts by HealthPartners to create competition among health care providers in Minnesota on the basis of both quality and price. Also provides some insight into the strategies for changing physician behavior. View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Service Delivery; Behavior; Competition; Health Industry; Minnesota

24 Feb 2015
News

Culture Clash: Silicon Valley vs. the U.S. Government

14 Apr 2017
News

Professor John Quelch Elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences

02 Feb 2016
News

HBS Launches Clinical Trials Contest

March 2000
Case

Medscape

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer and Lisa Shapiro Strovink

Medscape is a health care Web site that focuses on delivering high-quality information to health providers and consumers. This case describes Medscape's formation and business model and asks, How is this model unique and is it sustainable? View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Customer Focus and Relationships; Service Delivery; Web Sites; Information Industry

28 Mar 2018
News

Hospital Budget Systems Are Holding Back Innovation

October 1996 (Revised January 1997)
Case

Mt. Auburn Hospital

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Jaan Elias

In December of 1993, two of Boston's largest and best known hospitals, Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women's, announced that they were setting aside their historic rivalry to form an alliance and build a regional health network. The announcement set off a wave... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Negotiation Offer; Alliances; Networks; Social Enterprise; Horizontal Integration; Health Industry; Boston

16 Apr 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 16, 2019

all become consumers of the health care industry. Indeed, health care affects everyone and encompasses a diverse set of services from childbirth,... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

April 1, 2020
Article

Coronavirus Is Putting Corporate Social Responsibility to the Test

By: Mark R. Kramer

A great many large companies talk about their values, or about how much they care for their employees and other stakeholders. The coronavirus crisis is the time for them to make good on that commitment. The author offers some things that corporations can do to help... View Details

Keywords: Health Pandemics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact