[Page 10]
The system’s featured a friendly and un-daunting interface and clear structure which helped the user to navigate. The interface was adaptable to the different user needs; for example, those in a hurry could use only the top-level interaction options, while others can engage more deeply through personal settings and customization. The interface was further enhanced with details that gave the system a “human touch”: for example, the system recognizes each user by name and based on their profile offers them only the relevant information of each patient.
The interface also allowed for nonlinear navigation, offering shortcuts and useful glimpses of information. Large buttons and icons supported the decoding of information on-screen. Giving the user a clear sense of control alleviated reservations about using the technology; options to double-check and correct mistakes assisted in this. The implementation of the “two-thirds rule” (which says that the larger part of the system should be dedicated to and optimized for what most people want to do most of the time) guided prioritization and decision making. Thus, more screen real estate and visual emphasis was given to those elements that most people will be seeking at any given point.
Technological development also incorporated R&D of new therapies, including new materials and new equipment that differentiated the network centers and the implementation of automated diagnostic methods, in such a way as to streamline the medical professionals’ tasks. Vitalia was also working on a common ERP implementation across all centers to ensure that the network’s economies of scale can best be exploited, that best practices can be disseminated, and that the processes followed are the most efficient.
Vitalia’s main offices were bright and cheerful, with pictures of happy, smiling elderly people punctuating Vitalia’s décor of green logo and green chairs. The 10 people who worked there were young and full of energy, and the Monday morning executive meeting was underway.
“Well it really would be nice to have an investor put in all that money,” said Jesús, “It would help me sleep better. We’re in the middle of a very aggressive recruitment plan at the moment but you never know what’s going to happen—we might get 10 new franchisees or we might not.”
“I don’t think that’s the issue,” said Cristina, “Right now we have six prospective candidates that look really promising, and the last time I counted we had 35 information requests. We hit our goal last year, so I wouldn’t worry about getting ten.”
“Sure,” answered Jesus, “but we might have some cash flow problems along the way.”
“Let’s look at our strategy,” said Cathy, “We did say that we would wait until next year to face master franchising, but maybe we should speed up that process. We have prospective clients for both Portugal and Catalonia, so maybe we should push that up.”
“But what about the three million? Are we going to drop that?” asked Jesus.
“It really is an opportunity, isn’t it?” reflected Cathy. “Although I am concerned about management issues: on the one hand, we could lose our freedom. On the other hand, having your own centers means having control over service quality. And I am really concerned about that. We need to develop an operational strategy to maintain our service quality and the implementation of our Method. They are both differentiating factors and we need make sure that we don’t lose them. I know this investor and I think he could be great. Let’s look at the issues we all share. However, if you invested that money you would want to control, wouldn’t you?!”
Copyright © 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to www.hbsp.harvard.edu/educators. This publication may not be digitized, photocopied, or otherwise reproduced, posted, or transmitted, without the permission of Harvard Business School.
This online case study is authorized for use only in the HarvardX course "Innovating in Health Care," Spring 2015. Copyright 2015 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the permission of Harvard Business School. This free online content will expire at the conclusion of the course. Course participants may procure PDF versions of this content as well as the entire required and optional reading list by purchasing a coursepack here: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/pages/content/harvardxbus51x.