Healthcare companies often consider growth opportunities outside the country where the business was started. Unlike many industries that offer a global marketplace for one good or service produced in one country, yet consumed in many; healthcare is a multidomestic marketplace. Countries have similar attributes across healthcare systems, but offer discreet marketplaces that require a deep understanding of the local healthcare system and the product-to-market fit opportunity. While this is to some extent true with any product market, the vast differences in the very nature of commerce for healthcare (i.e. who is the customer, how are product decisions made, who can enter or exit the market, the deeply personal nature of the product and its interaction with cultural norms) makes it imperative that firms deeply understand how value is created and captured in each market. The final deliverable for the course will be for groups of students to each pick one country for study. The goal is not to cover every country but rather to limit the analysis to countries where market expansion is conceivable. The students will then have to assess whether this setting is appropriate for the expansion of the US-based healthcare service. This will require the students to judiciously apply their learnings from the course. A basic understanding of the health care industry is suggested but not required.

Please note: STRT-443 Healthcare Strategy OR STRT-444 Healthcare Economics are STRONGLY recommended prerequisites for the class.