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New research on health from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including corporate wellness, investing in community health, and health insurance.
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What Will It Take to Confront the Invisible Mental Health Crisis in Business?

by Kara Baskin

The pressure to do more, to be more, is fueling its own silent epidemic. Lauren Cohen discusses the common misperceptions that get in the way of supporting employees' well-being, drawing on case studies about people who have been deeply affected by mental illness.

Build the Life You Want: Arthur Brooks and Oprah Winfrey Share Happiness Tips

by HBS Staff

"Happiness is not a destination. It's a direction." In this video, Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey reflect on mistakes, emotions, and contentment, sharing lessons from their new book.

Can Remote Surgeries Digitally Transform Operating Rooms?

Re: Ariel D. Stern

Launched in 2016, Proximie was a platform that enabled clinicians, proctors, and medical device company personnel to be virtually present in operating rooms, where they would use mixed reality and digital audio and visual tools to communicate with, mentor, assist, and observe those performing medical procedures. The goal was to improve patient outcomes. The company had grown quickly, and its technology had been used in tens of thousands of procedures in more than 50 countries and 500 hospitals. It had raised close to $50 million in equity financing and was now entering strategic partnerships to broaden its reach. Nadine Hachach-Haram, founder and CEO of Proximie, aspired for Proximie to become a platform that powered every operating room in the world, but she had to carefully consider the company’s partnership and data strategies in order to scale. What approach would position the company best for the next stage of growth? Harvard Business School associate professor Ariel Stern discusses creating value in health care through a digital transformation of operating rooms in her case, “Proximie: Using XR Technology to Create Borderless Operating Rooms.”

How Workplace Wellness Programs Can Give Employees the Energy Boost They Need

by Hise Gibson

At a time when many workers are struggling with mental health issues, workplace wellness programs need to go beyond providing gym discounts and start offering employees tailored solutions that improve their physical and emotional well-being, says Hise Gibson.

Can Business Transform Primary Health Care Across Africa?

Re: Regina E. Herzlinger

mPharma, headquartered in Ghana, is trying to create the largest pan-African health care company. Their mission is to provide primary care and a reliable and fairly priced supply of drugs in the nine African countries where they operate. Co-founder and CEO Gregory Rockson needs to decide which component of strategy to prioritize in the next three years. His options include launching a telemedicine program, expanding his pharmacies across the continent, and creating a new payment program to cover the cost of common medications. Rockson cares deeply about health equity, but his venture capital-financed company also must be profitable. Which option should he focus on expanding? Harvard Business School Professor Regina Herzlinger and case protagonist Gregory Rockson discuss the important role business plays in improving health care in the case, “mPharma: Scaling Access to Affordable Primary Care in Africa.”

Could a Business Model Help Big Pharma Save Lives and Profit?

by Esther Schrader

Gilead Sciences used a novel approach to help Egypt address a public health crisis while sustaining profits from a key product. V. Kasturi Rangan and participants at a recent seminar hosted by the Institute for the Study of Business in Global Society discussed what it would take to apply the model more widely.

This Company Lets Employees Take Charge—Even with Life and Death Decisions

by Annelena Lobb

Dutch home health care organization Buurtzorg avoids middle management positions and instead empowers its nurses to care for patients as they see fit. Tatiana Sandino and Ethan Bernstein explore how removing organizational layers and allowing employees to make decisions can boost performance.

Can Robin Williams’ Son Help Other Families Heal Addiction and Depression?

Re: Lauren H. Cohen

Zak Pym Williams, son of comedian and actor Robin Williams, had seen how mental health challenges, such as addiction and depression, had affected past generations of his family. Williams was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a young adult and he wanted to break the cycle for his children. Although his children were still quite young, he began considering proactive strategies that could help his family’s mental health, and he wanted to share that knowledge with other families. But how can Williams help people actually take advantage of those mental health strategies and services? Professor Lauren Cohen discusses his case, “Weapons of Self Destruction: Zak Pym Williams and the Cultivation of Mental Wellness.”

How Martine Rothblatt Started a Company to Save Her Daughter

Re: Debora L. Spar

When serial entrepreneur Martine Rothblatt (founder of Sirius XM) received her seven-year-old daughter’s diagnosis of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), she created United Therapeutics and developed a drug to save her life. When her daughter later needed a lung transplant, Rothblatt decided to take what she saw as the logical next step: manufacturing organs for transplantation. Rothblatt’s entrepreneurial career exemplifies a larger debate around the role of the firm in creating solutions for society’s problems. If companies are uniquely good at innovating, what voice should society have in governing the new technologies that firms create? Harvard Business School professor Debora Spar debates these questions in the case “Martine Rothblatt and United Therapeutics: A Series of Implausible Dreams.” As part of a new first-year MBA course at Harvard Business School, this case examines the central question: what is the social purpose of the firm?

Using Design Thinking to Invent a Low-Cost Prosthesis for Land Mine Victims

Re: Srikant M. Datar

Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) is an Indian nonprofit famous for creating low-cost prosthetics, like the Jaipur Foot and the Stanford-Jaipur Knee. Known for its patient-centric culture and its focus on innovation, BMVSS has assisted more than one million people, including many land mine survivors. How can founder D.R. Mehta devise a strategy that will ensure the financial sustainability of BMVSS while sustaining its human impact well into the future? Harvard Business School Dean Srikant Datar discusses the importance of design thinking in ensuring a culture of innovation in his case, “BMVSS: Changing Lives, One Jaipur Limb at a Time.”

Can a ‘Basic Bundle’ of Health Insurance Cure Coverage Gaps and Spur Innovation?

by Kasandra Brabaw

One in 10 people in America lack health insurance, resulting in $40 billion of care that goes unpaid each year. Amitabh Chandra and colleagues say ensuring basic coverage for all residents, as other wealthy nations do, could address the most acute needs and unlock efficiency.

The Power of Personal Connections: How Shared Experiences Boost Performance

by Rachel Layne

Doctors who train together go on to provide better patient care later in their careers. What could teams in other industries learn? Research by Maximilian Pany and J. Michael McWilliams.

When a Vacation Isn’t Enough, a Sabbatical Can Recharge Your Life—and Your Career

by Michael Blanding

Burning out and ready to quit? Consider an extended break instead. Drawing from research inspired by his own 900-mile journey, DJ DiDonna offers practical advice to help people chart a new path through a sabbatical.

COVID-19 Lessons: Social Media Can Nudge More People to Get Vaccinated

by Scott Van Voorhis

Social networks have been criticized for spreading COVID-19 misinformation, but the platforms have also helped public health agencies spread the word on vaccines, says research by Michael Luca and colleagues. What does this mean for the next pandemic?

Buy-In from Black Patients Suffers When Drug Trials Don’t Include Them

by Scott Van Voorhis

Diversifying clinical trials could build trust in new treatments among Black people and their physicians. Research by Joshua Schwartzstein, Marcella Alsan, and colleagues probes the ripple effects of underrepresentation in testing, and offers a call to action for drugmakers.

Curbing an Unlikely Culprit of Rising Drug Prices: Pharmaceutical Donations

by Ben Rand

Policymakers of every leaning have vowed to rein in prescription drug costs, with little success. But research by Leemore Dafny shows how closing a loophole on drugmaker donations could eliminate one driver of rising expenses.

Can Amazon Remake Health Care?

by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette

Amazon has disrupted everything from grocery shopping to cloud computing, but can it transform health care with its One Medical acquisition? Amitabh Chandra discusses company's track record in health care and the challenges it might face.

Why Cutting Jobless Aid Isn't the Answer to Worker Shortages

by Rachel Layne

Many policymakers thought that halting COVID-related unemployment insurance would be a "silver bullet" to addressing worker shortages. In reality, cutting aid undermined consumer spending, says research by Raymond Kluender. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Lessons from COVID-19: The Business Skills Doctors Need

by Michael Blanding

The pandemic forced many physicians to become supply chain experts and strategic planners. Robert Huckman and colleagues offer a roadmap for teaching doctors the management and leadership skills they need—before the next public health crisis. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

France Telecom: Corporate Restructuring and Employee Well-Being

Re: Cynthia A. Montgomery & Ashley V. Whillans

The France Telecom case series follows the evolution of the organization from a national telephone monopoly to a private company facing severe challenges. These included a lessening competitive advantage, with the advent of mobile carriers and competition from other countries, as well as a workforce that was much larger than needed and included many civil servants, making it difficult to reduce headcount. As increasing pressure mounted internally to make changes and 22,000 jobs were lost between 2006 and 2009, the culture at France Telecom shifted from one where employees were proud to work to one where the physical and mental wellbeing of some employees became increasingly fragile. Did corporate leaders push employees too far, creating unacceptable levels of stress and unhappiness? Professors Cynthia Montgomery and Ashley Whillans discuss some fundamental tensions between the pressures and benefits of capitalism, the responsibilities of management, and the day-to-day and long-term impacts on employee well-being in the case, “France Telecom: A Difficult Restructuring.” Open for comment; 0 Comments.