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Four GlaxoSmithKline employees were accused of bribing Chinese health care workers to prescribe the company’s drugs. The accusations brought to light the questionable incentive structures of the Chinese health care system and the pressure on…

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…

On April 24, 2013 the Rana Plaza factory building collapsed in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Over 1,100 people were killed in the worst industrial accident since the Union Carbide plant gas leak in Bhopal, India. Most of the victims worked for…

Colorado’s 2014 legalization of marijuana for adult recreational (not just medical) use created a new market that entrepreneurs rushed to enter, channeled by regulations that aimed to minimize marijuana’s access to minors while not stifling…

In 2014, Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) were quickly gaining popularity as an investment vehicle which joined together private investors and nonprofits to tackle social issues. Although numerous SIB projects and proposals had cropped up across the U.S.…

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) were heralded by some as a healthcare game changer, enabling smokers to switch to a new product which carried lower risk of cancer. However, there were concerns about the public health risk of e-cigarettes,…

In 2013, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg tried and failed to institute a ban on serving sizes of large sugary beverages. Obesity posed a large public health risk to the city. Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed ban was one of many attempts to combat…

At the close of open-enrollment in March of 2014, Kevin Counihan, CEO of Access Health CT, Connecticut’s state health insurance exchange, stops to consider the success it has experienced so far and think about how to ensure its long-term…

Mental illness has been described as an epidemic affecting nearly a quarter of all Americans in their lifetimes, often during their most productive working years. Managers who can design organizations that maximize mental health can minimize these risks…

In June 2001, after winning the UK general elections by a landslide, which gave him a second term, Tony Blair invited Michael Barber (case protagonist) to establish and lead the Prime Minister Delivery Unit (PMDU): a small, dedicated performance…