This is a post I made in early December, 2008 (most of the links still worked!). In the past six years, some things have changed–many, many more people are now on needed treatment, and we’ve learning more about the disease–but, sadly, two million people were infected with the virus last year and 1.5 million died […] Continue Reading
Value chain analysis is often applied to businesses. The approach takes the line of business or business unit as its focus–not the firm as a whole. And it looks at the overall industry, not just the slice of activities that a given organization undertakes. The idea is to understand how you go from, say, raw […] Continue Reading
Hello, healthcare. We were lucky enough to talk to the inspiring York Zucchi, founder and CEO of Hello Healthcare, and his colleague Dr Fanie Hattingh, who called in to MIT today. Catch Zucchi on video here. Students had prepared a case study of the cooperative business that Zucchi and his colleagues operate in South Africa. […] Continue Reading
Improving operational efficiency in a small practice: Muthaiga Pediatrics An overview of MIT students’ 2009 project to analyze and refine the daily operations and standard processes of a general pediatrics clinic in Nairobi, Kenya. In the fall of 2009, a team of four MIT students applied to work with Muthaiga Pediatrics. The clinic’s head had […] Continue Reading
We had only a very short time–some 60 minutes–to start learning about major diseases in our class this week. As I told students, they way we see it, this class puts to the test the notion that an excellent manager knows something about the limits of his or her own knowledge, is skilled in drawing […] Continue Reading
We looked at some of the big-picture data on major diseases in our second class session, but to begin to really develop an understanding of some of the major medical issues that G-Lab GHD students need to know about, we examined what a patient’s experience might be like. Thanks to our expert guests, we learned […] Continue Reading
Yesterday we missed a chance to talk about what the 20th World AIDS Day means. I read some thoughtful–and sobering–things, and also found encouragement, as I spent a little time educating myself online. In the US, as more people with HIV/AIDS live longer, the CDC cautions, there are more chances to pass the virus along […] Continue Reading
Is surgery beyond the reach of the world’s poor? And how do we reconcile the issues involved with increasing access to surgery with the widespread need for water and sanitation? A case example inspired by Dr. Robert Riviello, trauma and acute care general surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, gave us some big […] Continue Reading
Shaped by the interaction of supply and demand, scarcity determines our decisions, as any neoclassical economist will tell you. But economics has gone beyond the neoclassical. Arguing for a more widespread behavioral view, a 2011 paper published by the Center for Global Development adds previously-overlooked psychic factors to better explain how we make decisions. At […] Continue Reading
Together with front-line organizations, MIT colleagues, and some of the best students in the world, we will tackle really big problems in smart new ways. Continue Reading
Could a chain of retail clinics pass what franchise experts call the “three point test” for success in business format franchising? Continue Reading
Can we make process, management, and systems a bit less dreary and a bit more glam? Continue Reading
Our second week in India brought with it a new set of hospitals and CNMs, and new pairs among our team. Carolyn and Maggie spent the week at Alwal, one of the newer LifeSpring hospitals, while Lauren and Marine went to Moula Ali, the original LifeSpring facility. At Alwal the team met Rosie, the CNM. […] Continue Reading
We can’t believe these past two weeks have passed so quickly! Today we had a final meeting with our host to review our impressions of the hospital and the CNM role. On our way to the meeting, we were surprised by a (literal) bump in the road… which turned into a flat tire in the […] Continue Reading
Our first week in India flew by – we have learned so much about Lifespring and the CNM role while also taking in the sights and tastes of Hyderabad. Marine and Carolyn spent the week in the Bowenpally location, where they forged strong friendships with the nurses and Clinical Nurse Manager. Their hospital is different […] Continue Reading
