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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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How Cost Accounting is Improving Healthcare in Rural Haiti

by Carmen Nobel

The cost of healthcare in rural Haiti was found to vary widely, even inside the same health organization. A pioneering cost accounting system co-developed by Robert Kaplan was called in to determine the cause. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Women Heart Patients Have Better Survival Odds with Women Doctors

by Rachel Layne

Roughly one in 66 women has a better chance of leaving the hospital alive if their doctor is also a woman, according to research by Laura Huang and colleagues. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

How Does Product Liability Risk Affect Innovation? Evidence from Medical Implants

by Alberto Galasso and Hong Luo

This analysis examines how a surge in liability risk faced by upstream suppliers of general purpose technologies (polymers) affected downstream innovation in implant technologies. Implant patenting dropped by 36 percent relative to non-implant technologies.

In a Landscape of 'Me Too' Drug Development, What Spurs Radical Innovation?

by Rachel Layne

Pharmaceutical companies are criticized for not producing more breakthrough drugs. But new research by Joshua Krieger and colleagues shows that, given a financial windfall, drug giants turn on the innovation. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

A Simple Way for Restaurant Inspectors to Improve Food Safety

by Carmen Nobel

Basic tweaks to the schedules of food safety inspectors could prevent millions of foodborne illnesses, according to new behavioral science research by Maria Ibáñez and Michael Toffel. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Could a New Business Model Make Clinical Drug Trials More Accessible to Patients?

Re: Ariel D. Stern

Ariel Stern discusses her recent case study about creating a new type of clinical trial designed to deliver life-enhancing drugs to patients more quickly. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Electronic Health Records Were Supposed to Cut Medical Costs. They Haven't.

by Roberta Holland

Digitizing patient information promised to cut health care costs by driving down administrative expenses. So why can it cost a doctor more than $200 to process a single bill? New research by Robert Kaplan and colleagues. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

How to Get People Addicted to a Good Habit

by Carmen Nobel

Reshmaan Hussam and colleagues used experimental interventions to determine if people could be persuaded to develop a healthy habit. Potentially at stake: the lives of more than a million children. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

A Better Business Model for Fighting Cancer

by Julia Hanna

The Kraft Precision Medicine Accelerator aims to speed up the development and delivery of cancer therapies by improving the business processes that surround them. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Identifying Sources of Inefficiency in Health Care

by Amitabh Chandra and Douglas O. Staiger

This economic study finds evidence of allocative inefficiency and substantial variation in comparative advantage across hospitals, with the benefits from treatment being much higher in some hospitals than others. The study overall suggests new directions for research on productivity in healthcare.

Healthy Business? Managerial Education and Management in Healthcare

by Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun, Renata Lemos, and John Van Reenen

A hospital's proximity to a university supplying both business and clinical education is associated with higher management practice scores and better clinical outcomes.

Making Health Insurance That Consumers Actually Like

Re: Regina E. Herzlinger

By motivating its insurance customers to take care of themselves, South African firm Vitality has expanded to the United Kingdom and China. In this podcast, Professor Regina Herzlinger discusses potential impacts of this model for health care in the United States. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Op-Ed: Can the Proposed American Health Care Act Improve on 'Obamacare'?

by John Quelch, Dr. Gordon Moore, and Emily Boudreau

Politics aside, the primary question to be asked about the newly proposed American Health Care Act is this: Will it improve choice, cost, and outcomes for health care consumers? Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

A Good Thing Happens When Doctors Start Talking to Their Patients

by Michael Blanding

A longer visit with your doctor before a procedure can improve results and save money, according to Robert S. Kaplan. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Challenging the Belief that Liability Laws Kill Medical Device Innovation

by Michael Blanding

Many policymakers believe liability laws need reforming so that medical device makers are free to innovate without threat of costly lawsuits. But new research by Hong Luo and Alberto Galasso suggests innovation is not thwarted—just rechanneled. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Building Affordable Health Care in Paradise

Re: Tarun Khanna

By some accounts, only about 5 percent of people worldwide receive cardiac treatment they need to survive. Professor Tarun Khanna highlights the need for affordable health care at scale, and a possible model based on factory-like repetition and learning in the Cayman Islands. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Why Business Should Invest in Community Health

by John Quelch, Howard Koh, and Pamela Yatsko

Many companies invest heavily to keep their employees healthy, but don't take the next step—invest in keeping their community healthy. John Quelch, Howard Koh, and Pamela Yatsko make the case. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Why Don't More People Get Flu Shots at Work?

by Roberta Holland

The frontline battle station in the just-started influenza season is the workplace flu vaccine clinic. The problem: fewer than half of employees take advantage of them. John Beshears discusses why location makes a difference. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Can Obamacare Be Saved?

by John A. Quelch and Emily Boudreau

Is Obamacare in trouble? With premiums rising and some health providers pulling back, The Affordable Care Act might seem wobbly. John A. Quelch and Emily Boudreau argue for remedies that include more education for consumers, innovation from insurers, and flexibility on behalf of regulators. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Where is TripAdvisor for Doctors?

by John A. Quelch

Would you give your doctor a poor rating just as you might flunk a bad meal or hotel? What if you needed that physician's services again? John A. Quelch discusses why it's difficult to create a TripAdvisor for doctors. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.