“In all parts of the Baltic Sea region, people are moving from the lesser populated areas to the larger cities,” wrote Henning Voss, consultant from the Danish Centre for Health Telematics, back in 2004. “One reason is that there is no equal access to healthcare in the rural areas compared to the urban.”
Read full "How technology is taking healthcare beyond borders in the Baltic" case study
Natura has a special identity in the Brazilian corporate environment. The 40-year-old cosmetics company does not only sell wellbeing as a marketing tool to reach customers, but has also sought to spread the values of better living among its own 6,000 staff and sales representatives.
As complex diseases grow more expensive to treat, and treatments increasingly expensive to develop, more companies may be looking at an innovative model set up last year by two of the biggest of Big Pharma.
As governments worldwide work to improve the healthcare of their citizens, some countries are making a particular effort to target underserved and marginalized indigenous populations that have traditionally been among the most deprived.
Read full "Why aboriginal healthcare remains a big issue" case study
The gift of sight is something most people in the developed world take for granted. In many countries eye-tests for children are routine, so problems are quickly addressed.
Most chief executives have a list of things they always remember to pack on business trips. It is fair to assume for most of them that the list would not include a bicycle.
The earthquake and tsunami that hit Chile on February 27th killed around 430 people, but it left another 500,000 homeless and therefore vulnerable to disease. The government, along with international aid agencies, was understandably keen to get a comprehensive vaccination program started as soon as possible.
Read full "How post-quake Chile got back on its feet" case study
The number of patients who go online for their healthcare information is widespread and growing. Although this trend is frequently reported, less well known is the vast increase in internet use by physicians, and the possible implications.
Read full "Why doctors are finally embracing the internet" case study
The Japanese generally enjoy good health and long life expectancy. But in Okinawa, Japan’s southernmost province, one person in every 2,000 is over 100 years old—which is three times as many as even Japan’s national average.
Read full "Okinawa study hopes to unlock secrets of healthy aging" case study
Delivering home care to the elderly and patients with chronic illnesses is generally regarded as a headache for health providers—not just for the significant costs involved, but also because there will need to be some big cultural and institutional changes to provide better co-ordinated services to those in need.
Read full "Canadian home care project shows benefits of integrated services" case study
There is a new trend among health insurers. Instead of simply paying insurance claims while trying to keep a lid on costs, they are actively encouraging customers to take greater responsibility for their own health. Using various incentives, customers are encouraged to adopt healthier lifestyles.
There are about 300,000 children in India with heart defects. Dr Devi Shetty wanted to provide cardiac surgery at reduced cost—or even free—to the neediest among them. In 2001, Dr Shetty founded the Narayana Hrudayalaya hospital in Bangalore, southern India, to serve the country's poor, especially its children.
One of the big concerns for doctors is making sure that the medication they are prescribing won’t react badly with any other drug their patient may be taking. With increasing numbers of people taking long-term medication for multiple conditions such as diabetes and hypertension, the problem is growing.
In 2008 the UK's National Audit Office reported that basic end-of-life needs were not being met by the country’s health and social care services. While surveys indicate that most people would prefer to die in their own homes, for example, in some parts of the UK up to 77% die in hospital.
Read full "UK plan aims to improve end-of-life care" case study
Ten years ago, Peter Nørgaard walked out of a stable job at an arts and crafts company based in Denmark. Shortly before him, a colleague, Lottes Littau, had done the same. Both had grown tired of battling against the mechanics of a company which jarred with their own principles of how to run a business.
Read full "Creativ approach to workplace wellbeing" case study
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