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Healthcare Crisis: Can Today's MBAs be Part of the Solution?


July 17th, 2012. The date the world population will touch 7 billion. At least that is what my spreadsheet says. Over 40% of this population will be in the BRIC countries, the beacons of economic growth in the developing world. Yet, a vast majority of people in these countries will have little access to healthcare. In fact, the combined expenditure on healthcare by BRIC countries is an estimated $200 billion, a paltry sum compared to the $5 trillion spent by the developed world that comprises of less than 20% of the people on earth. Ironically, the largest healthcare system in the world - the U.S. - is considered to be broken, too expensive to sustain and not quite able to serve all its people.
 
Now add to that the shift in the profile of diseases worldwide. Infectious diseases have been replaced by lifestyle conditions such as diabetes and heart disease as the leading cause of mortality and morbidity. India is now home to the highest number of diabetics and heart patients; China is not too far behind. Worse, a serious global gap exists both in terms of the number of trained healthcare providers and the extent of healthcare infrastructure. And while the increasing affluence of the emerging nations like China and India have boosted investment in both, the pace of investment is slower than that of the increasing healthcare need.
 
In view of these statistics and trends, it is natural that policymakers around the world are working furiously to come up with a solution. A major healthcare overhaul was passed in the U.S. earlier this year. Both China and India have announced ambitious government initiatives with a total cost in hundreds of billions of dollars. Biopharmaceutical and medical device industries are going through major rethink on the process for developing new therapies and pricing strategy for these therapies. Telemedicine and medical tourism are making healthcare a truly global industry.
 
But the question remains: are we ready to serve the 7 billion people. Will our coming generations have access to better healthcare or will they suffer because we did not have the foresight, will, and commitment to address the challenges today. Will for-profit businesses and non-profit organizations work with regulators and policy makers to develop innovative technologies and business models that are both affordable and sustainable. More pertinently, if you were to get an MBA today, with a focus on healthcare, what would you like to do with that MBA to be part of the solution.
 
This last question is one of the key themes to be addressed by a panel of highly qualified speakers on July 17th 2010 by Gurome. The panelists, who head the healthcare clubs at world's best business schools, including Harvard, Wharton, Kellogg, Haas, Stanford, and Fuqua, will participate in an online discussion. The discussion will center on the role of MBAs in meeting the healthcare needs of today. The debate will also focus on the role of business schools in training the leaders who will head the healthcare industry of tomorrow. If you are part of the healthcare ecosystem and want to participate in the discussion, you can join the panel event online. Registration is mandatory and spots are limited. To reserve your spot, register at http://www.gurome.com/info/healthcare_mba_event.html. Here are some of the details of the event:
 
Panelists for the event include:
 
Harvard Business School: Karen Sein, Co-President, Healthcare Club
Stanford Graduate School of Business: Dr. Vandana Jain, Co-President, Healthcare Club
The Wharton School, The University of Pennsylvania: Lauren DiCola, President, Healthcare Club
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University: Ian Farrington, Co-President, Healthcare Club
Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley: Heather Stamper, Co-President, Healthcare Association
Fuqua School of Business, Duke University: Sarah Bruss, Chair of Admissions, Healthcare Club
 
Moderated by: Dr. Anurag Mairal, Ph.D., CEO, Gurome and Associate Director, Stanford Biodesign, Stanford University

 

  

About Gurome: 
Gurome offers GMAT Test Prep courses, a free GMAT testMBA admissions consulting services, and a lot more. 

About the author:
Dr. Anurag Mairal is the CEO of Gurome, Inc. He will be moderating the Healthcare MBA Panel mentioned above. You can read more about him at: http://gurome.com/info/executive.html
 


Posted by Rahul Lakhani at Jul 10, 2010 12:04:47 PM
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