Knowledge@Wharton -- Health Economics

Concierge Medicine: The Doctor Is (Always) In, If You Pay Enough

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:27:39 EST

For anyone who has ever waited days or weeks to see the doctor, concierge medicine sounds appealing: For an additional fee, patients typically enjoy same-day appointments and 24-hour access, more face time with the doctor and extra preventative care. Doctors who offer concierge medicine say the practice frees them from the constraints imposed by insurance providers and allows them time to give patients the individualized attention they need. Skeptics argue that concierge medicine promotes a two-tiered system, improving health care for a few but worsening it for everyone else.

How to Encourage People to Become Organ Donors: An Incentive System with Heart

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:18:25 EST

While the decision to register as an organ donor is a difficult one, no one can dispute the tremendous need for such donors. Approximately 110,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for organ transplants, and the donation rate in some states is as low as 7%. Against this backdrop, Wharton professor Judd Kessler and a co-researcher set out to see whether a change in the system -- one that gives priority on waiting lists to those who register as organ donors -- could cause a substantial increase in registration numbers.

Mystery Diagnosis: An Era of Uncertainty for the Health Care Sector

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:07:07 EST

The U.S. health care sector is experiencing a time of enormous change and uncertainty, from legal challenges to President Obama's health care reform legislation to the soon-to-open generic markets for several best-selling drugs. The health care industry continues to grapple with how to deliver better care in an efficient, cost-effective way. In a recent presentation, four Wharton health care management professors discussed their research on these and other issues.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Risa Lavizzo-Mourey: The Challenges Facing Health Care Reform

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:24:09 EST

The landscape for health care in the U.S. continues to shift since the Obama administration passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act last year. Several questions remain unanswered, including how to expand health coverage, what are the potential minefields for doing so, and what are the best ways to ensure that the system performs well. Meanwhile, Americans are becoming increasingly unhealthy, despite spending more on health care than any other nation. To address these issues, Knowledge@Wharton spoke with Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which focuses its efforts on improving the country's health care. Lavizzo-Mourey will be a speaker at the upcoming Wharton Leadership Conference 2011, which will take place on June 22.

In the Health Care Sector, Who Should Choose Which Treatment Is Best?

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 14:25:28 EST

Each day, workers in the health care field debate the most reliable course of action for treating a particular ailment. As part of U.S. health care reform, new emphasis is being placed on comparative effectiveness research (CER), which pits remedies against one another to determine which is best. A new paper by Wharton professor Scott Harrington warns that the government should avoid developing a monopoly on CER, and offers suggestions for sparking interest from private sector researchers.

As Goes Massachusetts, So Goes the Nation? How Reform Is Impacting Health Care in the Bay State

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 15:47:44 EST

The U.S. health care system is beginning to feel the effects of landmark reform legislation, although much of the law has yet to be implemented and opponents have persisted in calling for its repeal. But lessons learned in Massachusetts, where a similar program was launched in 2006, indicate that some of the dire predictions about national reform may not come to pass. A new research paper co-authored by Wharton health care management professor Jonathan Kolstad examines mandated insurance coverage and its effect on health care use and patient outcomes in the Bay State, finding that -- at least initially -- broader coverage has not led to dramatic overuse of the system or skyrocketing hospital costs.

Ready, Set, Go! Innovators Set the Pace in the Race for Faster Cures

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 09:01:02 EST

Philanthropies and nonprofits are creating new models for drug development that cut against the grain of traditional for-profit drug discovery. Success stories range from bringing a meningitis vaccine to sub-Saharan Africa in record time to accelerating the start of clinical trials for a promising new cancer treatment. Open-source research is a key part of new models, and public and private projects are under way as well. Such initiatives may serve as templates for future drug development.

Road Blocks or Runways? Regulators Strive to Speed Drug Reviews without Losing Rigor

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 09:00:58 EST

Regulators must walk a fine line between providing access to new, cutting-edge therapies and protecting the public from drugs that might be dangerous. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the world's largest medical regulatory agency, aims to speed up the process of reviewing new drugs but still faces criticism. Global guidelines for drug applications can help smooth over differences, while frequent communication between drug companies and regulators can help resolve issues in the best interests of the public.

Cures for an Industry Crisis: Big Pharma Scrambles to Find New Ways to Develop Drugs Faster

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 09:00:54 EST

Companies are turning to new methods of developing drugs as blockbusters lose patent protection. These models include partnerships with universities and the sharing of once closely guarded warehouses of compounds. A key focus of the research is "translational medicine" -- whose goal is to replace traditional one-size-fits-all drugs with personalized treatments for patients with specific genetic profiles.

Profits and Social Responsibility: Chastened Drug Makers Step Up Efforts to Bring Affordable Medicines to Poor Countries

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 09:00:50 EST

A decade after pharmaceutical companies took heat for their reluctance to make HIV/AIDS drugs widely available to impoverished African nations, the industry has changed its approach on pricing and access to drugs. Now, advocates for social responsibility in global health are focusing on how companies decide which drugs they will develop and how they manage operations in the developing world. New approaches include sharing patented compounds with companies developing treatments for tropical diseases, and rewarding companies that develop treatments for neglected Third World diseases.

Anatomy of a Merger: 'Hostile Deals Become Friendly in the End, Right?'

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:07:02 EST

When Roche Holding acquired full ownership of Genentech last year, the $46.8 billion deal was the culmination of a more than 20-year relationship between the Swiss pharmaceutical giant and the Silicon Valley biotechnology company. In a recent presentation at Wharton San Francisco, Steve Krognes -- a former Roche executive who is now senior vice president and CFO of Genentech -- talked about the pharma company's decision to pursue the merger, efforts to raise capital amid the beginnings of the 2008 recession, and the aftermath of the deal.

The Price of a Cure? How Big Pharma Can Help Poverty-stricken Populations

Wed, 26 May 2010 16:26:29 EST

How much is a cure for an illness that afflicts the poor really worth? That question is the cornerstone of a plan by Thomas Pogge, a Yale University professor of philosophy and international affairs, to address disconnects in pharmaceutical innovation that leave millions in the developing world suffering from neglected diseases. In a recent presentation at Wharton, Pogge explained how his Health Impact Fund would employ the true value of a cure to encourage drug makers to come up with medicines that would help poverty-stricken populations around the world.

Health Care Reform: Not Ready to Be Discharged Yet

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:51:19 EST

America's health care reform may be out of the emergency room, but its prognosis remains sketchy. Passage of the historic 2,400-page legislation by no means ended the health care debate, say Wharton experts: It just splintered one massive question mark into a lot of new big ones. As one Wharton professor noted: "The current legislation is going to be in play for a good long time." But he also pointed out that the bill offers new business opportunities in such areas as medical information technology, education and methods of delivery.

Pharma Is at Pains to Replace Blockbusters: Has It Found the Cure?

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:52:49 EST

As the pharmaceutical industry comes to grips with the expiration of some $130 billion in patented products over the next four years, executives can no longer bank on a single drug like Lipitor to drive earnings. Instead, they are aiming to diversify their drug portfolios, hoping to develop products for far less than the $800 million-plus figure often cited as the price of bringing a new drug to market. According to industry experts, new paths involve innovative business models and unfamiliar risks, including allowing outsiders to see company secrets at earlier stages and mimicking biotech venture capital models.

Lean Health Care: Lower Costs, Better Outcomes

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:33:12 EST

Could lean processes transform the U.S. health care system, with its spiraling costs and inconsistent quality? The industry's growing problems are creating a sense of urgency and a strong mandate for change. Lean's focus on cutting costs, increasing efficiency, streamlining processes, and improving patient outcomes may be just the prescription for this ailing sector.

Why Improving Global Health Care Is Everyone's Responsibility

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:10:20 EST

Throughout the developing world, infectious disease and chronic illnesses confront more than one billion people living in poverty. To make significant strides in global health, governments and for-profit and non-profit businesses must find a way to foster innovative, breakthrough solutions not only to treat illnesses, but also to improve the delivery of health care itself. Nobel Prize winners and global health care experts will be exploring these issues during a Festival of Thinkers panel titled, Future Well-Being: Towards a Healthier World.

Rx for the Pharmaceutical Industry: Focus on Innovation, Not Marketing

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:33:51 EST

The good news for the pharmaceutical industry is that, short-term, it may emerge as a winner in the health care reform battle as new customers enter the system and price protections remain in force. The bad news is that while big pharma has used increasingly large megamergers to support its reliance on blockbuster products, it still faces the long-term need to develop fundamentally new business models to cope with its most significant problem -- a failure to come up with new treatments, according to Wharton faculty.

Value Destruction: The Cost to Companies That Engage in Deceptive Marketing

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:48:04 EST

On September 2, Pfizer agreed to pay $2.3 billion to settle civil and criminal allegations that it violated federal rules governing drug sales. While the settlement was the largest ever levied against a U.S. company, the indirect costs to Pfizer may be even higher over time in terms of lost shareholder value. New research puts a price on the less tangible costs to a company that can arise when marketing efforts backfire.

Bangkok's Bumrungrad Hospital: Expanding the Footprint of Offshore Health Care

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:37:02 EST

Thailand's Bumrungrad International Hospital is one of a growing number of institutions making a name for themselves among "medical tourists" by offering patients from Boston to Bahrain a combination of lower-cost, state-of-the-art medical care along with service worthy of a five-star hotel. But what will it take for such hospitals to gain acceptance among national policy makers, major insurers and employers? Mack Banner, CEO of Bumrungrad, and Kenneth Mays, the hospital's director of marketing, recently met with Ravi Aron, a senior fellow at Wharton, to discuss the future of offshore health care.

Another Hurdle to Health Care Reform: Too Few General Practice Doctors

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:41:58 EST

While the possibility that millions of uninsured Americans might soon have access to health coverage may conjure images of patients stacked up in hospital hallways or waiting for months for an MRI, the most likely stress point in an expanded health care system will involve the family doctor, according to Wharton health care experts and others.