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Innovation, information technology, e-marketing and sales, strategy and entrepreneurship.

The case is intended for use in advanced graduate and executive education level management and technical programs of study. The case is high inter-disciplinary appropriate for all courses dealing in use of innovation, information technology, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales and strategy.

Practo Technologies Pvt Ltd is a company established in 2008 by entrepreneurs Shashank, N.D. along with Abhinav Lal. At Practo Technologies engineers practice to create technology that supports healthcare industry. In India, there is not enough assistance given to the patients in terms of searching for appropriate doctors and fixing an appointment with them easily. The patient's data lie scattered in reports and the patient's medical history goes unrecorded. Practo provides a robust platform for doctors and patients to collaborate together under one umbrella. It provides patients with open basket of doctor profiles and special search based on doctor's specialty. The case showcases the journey of transformation healthcare sector in India has gone through. The change was resisted, it never came that easy! The case explores issues in implementing information technology for clinics and hospitals in India. This case illustrates interesting facts Indian healthcare and the preparation they need to equip with to manage global technology tide.

The case can be used for teaching service innovation. Managing innovative practices and low-cost online business models is illustrated. In particular, it deals with how the early start up employs innovation to set up new working ideas. The case is designed to stimulate discussions of broad array of issues regarding deployment of IT services specifically in the hospitals and clinics across India. Evaluate the advantages and liabilities of expanding globally at a very early start up stage. The case focuses on Practo early development with only concept in hand and transforming it into a profit generating business. Evaluate the advantages and challenges of innovation, technology development, deployment and training of manpower to use it. The case offers students opportunity to understand and take view of strategically building early start up and management of concerns with no prior experience. To identify business opportunities and explore various possibilities of expansion into IT healthcare business. The students are given base to explore sales and marketing strategies for online model. The students get overview of cutting edge business offerings and surviving the dynamic competition in the era of globalization.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

The area of focus is on organization strategies, specifically in developing appropriate strategies for business expansion in a situation of high economic uncertainties.

This case is designed for advanced undergraduate in the business and management programs and students in the MBA programs. It is suitable for courses of organizational management, organization theory and design, strategic management, and managerial economics.

At the end of 2009, Kumpulan Perubatan Johor Healthcare Group was the largest public-listed healthcare service provider in Malaysia, with revenues of RM1.5 billion (approximately USD0.5 billion) and a net profit after tax of RM115 million (approximately USD38 million). The country was experiencing economic downturn, which affected demands of the affluent as well as medical tourism segments, which were the targeted market of the company. Datin Paduka Siti Sa'diah Sheikh Bakir, the group's CEO and her management team realized that the company needed to seek a new growth strategy. The case stimulates a discussion on the future strategy of a high-growth healthcare company that aspired to be the leading healthcare player in the region.

Understanding the process of analyzing an industry, as well as formulating strategies, enables case analysts to extend the practice of making strategic decisions to many business situations.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

International business, international marketing, and strategic management.

Advanced undergraduate and MBA students taking courses in international business, international marketing, and strategic management.

KPJ Healthcare Group started its operations in 1979. By the end of 2012, the Group operated 22 hospitals in Malaysia, two in Indonesia, one in Thailand, and one retirement resort in Australia. Its internationalization efforts began in mid-1990s with the provision of hospital management service in Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Saudi Arabia. Since 2010, the Group had pursued international acquisition projects in Australia, Indonesia and Thailand. In early 2013, the Group's newly appointed CEO and his management team had to decide on the strategies to ensure the success of these international acquisition projects. This case stimulates discussion on international strategies of a large healthcare group, operating in a highly competitive, high-growth industry in an emerging economy.

Understanding of approaches to service internationalization (incremental versus rapid), strategies in service internationalization, forms of service internationalization ventures will enable case analysts to apply and consider these concepts in many business situations involving internationalization process and business growth in general.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

The case is particularly well suited to entrepreneurship, marketing, technology, innovation, or strategy courses.

This teaching case is aimed at postgraduate students in management or business programmes.

This case follows the Kenyan healthcare tech company Savannah Informatics as they contemplate how the company will continue to grow in a post-pandemic world. Savannah is the market leader in electronic claims validation solutions for the Kenyan healthcare system. Their flagship product, the digital platform Slade 360, allows health insurers, healthcare providers, and patients to share claims information for health services in real time, drastically reducing payment transfer times, incidents of fraud, and account errors. The Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown mandates from the Kenyan government have reduced short-term revenues by driving down hospital visits for citizens overall, but they have also created a demand for telemedicine and more online healthcare solutions. CEO John Muthee and his co-founders are left to consider their options for growing Savannah Informatics: expanding into new markets, creating more solutions for their insurance and provider customers in Kenya, or diversifying.

Identify the key challenges facing Savannah

Analyse the organisation using the 5Cs model (company, customers, competitors, collaborators and context) and VRIO (value, rarity, imitability, and organisation) analysis

Assess the growth opportunities available to Savannah and make recommendations

The first three years of operation of the West Kendall Baptist Hospital (WKBH) in Miami, Florida provided a “poster child” for efficient and cost effective healthcare delivery to the West Kendall community that it served. The hospital leadership and management team exemplified a quality-oriented staff that moved as a cohesive and dedicated organization. WKBH exceeded every budget prediction and showed a profit in year 3, well before expected. Then came the winds of regulatory change. With the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the attendant imposition of new reimbursement metrics, the picture at WKBH changed almost overnight. By the first quarter of 2016, WKBH started to lose money in excess of budget predictions despite its increased patient admissions, careful financial planning, expense reductions, quality service, and excellence in patient care delivery. A serious financial crisis was looming with little relief in sight. The hospital management team began to search for solutions.

The research methodology includes collecting quantitative data: original financial statements and financial data from WKBH, as well as qualitative data: interviews of hospital administrators and historical information.

Graduate capstone course in a finance course; masters in health administration; and/or the MBA program.

While it is clear that the ACA was designed with all good intentions, it has created substantial and perhaps, unanticipated financial burdens for caregivers. These issues are not only faced by WKBH. Most hospitals could relate to one or more of the four questions examined as part of this learning process. Graduate MBA students worked with the hospital to identify, define, focus, and resolve difficult quantitative and qualitative issues faced by the hospital as a result of major changes in the regulatory environment with the passage of the ACA. This case focuses upon the current reimbursement environment that has only recently emerged as a result of the implementation of the ACA.

For discussion of social entrepreneurship in middle-income economies, emerging markets generally and Africa, specifically, Quali Health presents interesting questions about entrepreneurial funding, scaling and the interplay between social entrepreneurial activities and the informal sector.

South Africa’s primary health outcomes do not correspond to the country’s spending on public health, with South Africa ranking among the worst globally in the incidence of tuberculosis, HIV prevalence, infant mortality and life expectancy. In part, this poor outcome can be explained by high inequality in access to healthcare, which reflects South Africa’s grossly skewed income and wealth distributions, with the bulk of the country’s population reliant upon an underfunded, inefficient and poorly managed public health system. This substandard service for the working poor in South Africa’s townships with high population densities offered a profitable entrepreneurial opportunity to provide affordable and effective primary care with vast gains in quality and outcomes improved dignity for patients. After receiving her MBA, physician and entrepreneur Dr Nthabiseng Legoete self-funded the launch of Quali Health in 2017. The business model set out to disrupt healthcare delivery for South Africa’s poorest citizens. Drawing patients from the working poor in Diepsloot, Quali Health’s inaugural site was cash flow positive within five months when the facility hit only 30% of installed service capacity. With quick success, Dr Legoete faced the strategic question of how fast to scale and finance the expansion. She also considered a new micro-insurance product for her clientele.

For discussion of social entrepreneurship in middle-income economies, emerging markets generally and Africa, specifically, Quali Health presents interesting questions about entrepreneurial funding, scaling and the interplay between social entrepreneurial activities and the informal sector.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS: 3 Entrepreneurship.

The case deals with a chain of hospitals, that has grown vary fast in last few years as a result of various acquisitions and new developments. The hospital chain is lagging behind in use of technology. The IT department is inward looking and the focus is more on provide support services rather than strategic orientation. A new CIO takes charge of the IT department and decides to transform IT from playing a support to strategic role. He identifies cloud computing as a tool to take the leap. The case provides an opportunity to discuss the type of service and deployment models of benefits of cloud technology. A rough data to do financial evaluation of cloud technology is presented. Evaluation parameters that may be used to decide on cloud versus in-house technology are also discussed.

GE Healthcare was on a continuous lookout for investing into new and innovative super value products for the Bottom of the Pyramid markets in India. After launching its first successful super value ECG machine Mac 400, GE had recently launched its twenty-fifth super value product a PET CT machine. Serving the BOP markets has its own unique challenges that may be different for each product that is placed in the market. However, GE has so far successfully sailed through all the challenges and developed a steep learning curve about BOP markets. However, it is now facing the challenge of ensuring sustainability of product pipeline. The company is also keen to exploit the opportunities for reverse innovation that super value products have provided. The company also wants to assess the disruptive impact of these products in domestic medical device markets as well as markets outside India.

The assignment is to design a plan that aligns patient satisfaction scores with quality care metrics. The instructor’s manual (IM) introduces models for designing and implementing a strategic plan to approach the quality improvement process.

This is a field research case. The author(s) had access to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and other members of the management team, meeting with them on numerous occasions. Cleveland Clinic Florida (CCF) provided the data included in the appendices. Additionally, relevant hospital data, also included in the appendices, is required to be made public on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) databases. Accordingly, all data and information are provided by original sources.

Osmel “Ozzie” Delgado, MBA and COO of CCF was faced with a dilemma. Under the new CMS reimbursement formula, patient satisfaction survey scores directly impacted hospital reimbursement. However, the CCF patient satisfaction surveys revealed some very unhappy patients. Delgado pondered these results that really made no sense to him because CCF received the highest national and state rankings for its clinical quality at the same time. Clearly, patients were receiving the best medical care, but they were still unhappy. Leaning back in his chair, Delgado shook his head and wondered incredulously how one of the most famous hospitals in the world could deliver such great care but receive negative patient feedback on CMS surveys. What was going wrong and how was the hospital going to fix it?

This case is designed for graduate Master’s in Business Administration (MBA), Master’s in Health Sciences Administration (MHSA) and/or Public Health (PA) audiences. While a healthcare concentration is useful, the case raises the generic business problems of satisfying the customer to increase brand recognition in the marketplace and displacing competition to increase annual revenues. Indeed, the same analysis can be applied in other heavily regulated industries also suffering from a change in liquidity and growth occasioned by regulatory change.

Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP); social innovation and business modeling.

Undergraduate and graduate level management/business school students. It can be taught in marketing management and entrepreneurship/innovation courses.

LifeSpring Hospitals Pvt. Ltd is an expanding chain of hospitals that provide high quality health care to lower-income women and children across Andhra Pradesh. It is a 50-50 equity partnership between Hindustan Latex Ltd and the Acumen Fund. LifeSpring has demonstrated exceptional management principles, some of them being the most innovative and attractive ones. The entire focus of LifeSpring is on one particular niche: maternal care. Some argue about its strategy of not adopting diversification, but LifeSpring has proved its point by actually turning out to be a profitable business. The strategy of focusing on one niche has led to reduction in cost in terms of specialized doctors and the range of equipment needed to serve. Adding to the strategic strength of LifeSpring, its operations (management) is perfectly aligned with the organization's vision and quality is achieved via highly standardized procedures for maternal care service.

This case will cover two important aspects of BOP and social innovation. MBA students will investigate an innovative business model and apply their analytical skills to analyse the sustainability of the model.

Teaching notes and exercise for class-based discussion.