Dennis Gillings Professor of Health Management
Director of the Centre for Health Leadership & Enterprise (CCHLE)
Diploma, PhD, Habilitation (Karlsruhe University)
My focus in both teaching and research revolves around addressing the organisational and management challenges associated with achieving high-quality, affordable, and accessible healthcare for all. I am particularly interested in exploring and overcoming organisational barriers to service innovation and in studying and developing novel business models, both for-profit and not-for-profit, that underpin successful service innovations. My research is practice-based and informed by active collaborations with health systems in the UK and the USA.
Prospective PhD students
Research interests
While technological advances drive service innovation almost everywhere, healthcare seems stuck in a 20th century service model, centred around a family doctor and a general hospital. This model is safe but has driven up costs for decades. These cost pressures turned into unsustainable workforce pressures when funding growth was frozen after the 2008 financial crisis. The pandemic has pushed this service model to a breaking point – with the most devastating effects for the most vulnerable in society. Incremental improvements of the existing model will no longer suffice to address this societal challenge. A more radical change is required that supports the patient need, improves workforce well-being and engagement, and makes step-change improvements to clinical productivity. Stefan’s research supports this service innovation effort.
Service innovation in healthcare is not primarily a technological or operational challenge but, first and foremost, a business model challenge. To help address this challenge, Stefan has co-founded 2 major initiatives. The Healthcare Utility Initiative, co-founded with Cambridge Judge Business Doctorate student Carter Dredge, has the mission to improve access to affordable healthcare for everyone by developing, refining and supporting new, disruptive not-for-profit business models. The Global Convergence Initiative, co-founded with Cambridge Judge Fellow Anoop Maini, has the mission to end fragmentation in healthcare by developing Precision Population Health Solutions that are configured to optimise health outcomes for specific populations at risk escalation points. These initiatives support a vision of complementing the traditional “GP-Hospital” nexus with vibrant local and national ecosystems of social enterprises, led by entrepreneurs with a social mission, who challenge the status quo and drive health service innovation at scale.
Professional experience
Stefan has over 2 decades of experience teaching MBA students and executives. His executive teaching focuses on the development and delivery of bespoke leadership programmes to support system change and transformation.
Stefan’s research and teaching are strongly practice-based and embedded in close collaborations with executives in health systems, hospitals and primary care practices in the NHS and the USA. He is the founding director of the Cambridge Centre for Health Leadership & Enterprise and a founding member of the East of England Joint Evidence and Intelligence Cell between the NHS, Public Health England, Health Education England and Cambridge Judge, established in 2020 to support COVID planning in the region.
Stefan is Chair of the Board of Granta Medical Practices in Cambridgeshire, honorary consultant at Public Health England, and Department Editor for Healthcare Management at Management Science.
Previous appointments
Stefan joined Cambridge Judge in 1996 from the University of Karlsruhe as a Lecturer in Operations Research. Prior to his appointment as Dennis Gillings Professor in 2010, he was Professor of Management Science.
Publications
Selected publications
- Dredge, C., Liljenquist, D. and Scholtes, S. (2022) “Disruptive collaboration: a thesis for pro-competitive collaboration in health care.” NEJM Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery, 29 March 2022 (DOI: 10.1056/CAT.22.0057) (available online)
- Dredge, C. and Scholtes, S. (2021) “The health care utility model: a novel approach to doing business.” NEJM Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery, 8 July 2021 (DOI: 10.1056/CAT.21.0189) (available online)
- Bobroske, K., Freeman, M., Huan, L., Cattrell, A. and Scholtes, S. (2022) “Curbing the opioid epidemic at its root: the effect of provider discordance after opioid initiation.” Management Science, 68(3): 2003-2015 (DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2021.4252) (available online)
- Freeman, M., Robinson, S. and Scholtes, S. (2021) “Gatekeeping, fast and slow: an empirical study of referral errors in the emergency department.” Management Science, 67(7): 4209-4232 (DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2020.3711)
- Freeman, M., Savva, N. and Scholtes, S. (2020) “Economies of scale and scope in hospitals: an empirical study of volume spillovers.” Management Science (DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2019.3572) (published online May 2020)
- Kuntz, L., Scholtes, S. and Sülz, S. (2019) “Separate and concentrate: accounting for patient complexity in general hospitals.” Management Science, 65(6): 2445-2945 (DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2018.3064) (available online)
Journal articles
- Dredge, C. and Scholtes, S. (2023) “Vaccinating health care supply chains against market failure: the case of Civica Rx.” NEJM Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery, 4(10) (DOI: 10.1056/CAT.23.0167)
- Kajaria-Montag, H., Freeman, M. and Scholtes, S. (2023) “Continuity of care increases physician productivity in primary care.” Management Science (forthcoming)
- Bobroske, K., Freeman, M., Huan, L., Cattrell, A. and Scholtes, S. (2022) “Curbing the opioid epidemic at its root: the effect of provider discordance after opioid initiation.” Management Science, 68(3): 2003-2015 (DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2021.4252) (available online)
- Dredge, C., Liljenquist, D. and Scholtes, S. (2022) “Disruptive collaboration: a thesis for pro-competitive collaboration in health care.” NEJM Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery, 29 March 2022 (DOI: 10.1056/CAT.22.0057) (available online)
- Dredge, C. and Scholtes, S. (2021) “The health care utility model: a novel approach to doing business.” NEJM Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery, 8 July 2021 (DOI: 10.1056/CAT.21.0189) (available online)
- Freeman, M., Robinson, S. and Scholtes, S. (2021) “Gatekeeping, fast and slow: an empirical study of referral errors in the emergency department.” Management Science, 67(7): 4209-4232 (DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2020.3711)
- Freeman, M., Savva, N. and Scholtes, S. (2021) “Economies of scale and scope in hospitals: an empirical study of volume spillovers.” Management Science, 67(2): 673–697 (DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2019.3572)
- van der Schaar, M., Alaa, A.M., Floto, A., Gimson, A., Scholtes, S., Wood, A., McKinney, E., Jarrett, D., Lio, P. and Ercole, A. (2021) “How artificial intelligence and machine learning can help healthcare systems respond to COVID-19.” Machine Learning, 110(1): 1–14 (DOI: 10.1007/s10994-020-05928-x)
- KC, D.S., Scholtes, S. and Terwiesch, C. (2020) “Empirical research in healthcare operations: past research, present understanding, and future opportunities.” Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, 22(1): 73-83 (DOI: 10.1287/msom.2019.082)
- Han, L., Fine, J., Robinson, S.M., Boyle, A.A., Freeman, M. and Scholtes, S. (2019) “Is seniority of emergency physician associated with the weekend mortality effect? An exploratory analysis of electronic health records in the UK.” Emergency Medicine Journal, 36(12): 708-715 (DOI: 10.1136/emermed-2018-208114)
- Kuntz, L., Scholtes, S. and Sulz, S. (2019) “Separate and concentrate: accounting for patient complexity in general hospitals.” Management Science, 65(6): 2482-2501 (DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2018.3064)
- Freeman, M., Savva, N. and Scholtes, S. (2017) “Gatekeepers at work: an empirical analysis of a maternity unit.”Management Science, 63(10): 3147-3167 (DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2016.2512)
- Newnham, M., Bunclark, K., Abraham, N., Almeida, L.A., Cannon, J., Clare, S., Doughty, N., Dunning, J., Ng, C., Ponnaberanam, A., Scholtes, S., Sheares, K., Speed, N., Taboada, D., Toshner, M., Tsui ,S., Jenkins, D. and Pepke-Zaba, J. (2017) “Camphor score: sustained improvement in patient reported outcomes following pulmonary endarterectomy in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.”Thorax, 72 (DOI: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2017-210983.56)
- Smith, W.B., Steinberg, J., Scholtes, S. and Mcnamara, I.R. (2017) “Medial compartment knee osteoarthritis: age-stratified cost-effectiveness of total knee arthroplasty, unicompartmental knee arthroplasty, and high tibial osteotomy..”Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy, 25(3): 924-933 (DOI: 10.1007/s00167-015-3821-3)
- Martani, C., Jin, Y., Soga, K. and Scholtes, S. (2016) “Design with uncertainty: the role of future options for infrastructure integration.”Computer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, 31(10): 733-748 (DOI: 10.1111/mice.12214)
- Kuntz, L., Mennicken, R. and Scholtes, S. (2015) “Stress on the ward: evidence of safety tipping points in hospitals.”Management Science, 61(4): 754-771 (DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2014.1917)
- Lee, Y.S. and Scholtes, S. (2014) “Empirical prediction intervals revisited.”International Journal of Forecasting, 30(2): 217-234 (DOI: 10.1016/j.ijforecast.2013.07.018)
- Savva, N. and Scholtes, S. (2014) “Opt-out options in new product co-development partnerships.”Production and Operations Management, 23(8): 1370-1386 (DOI: 10.1111/poms.12059)
- Kuntz, L. and Scholtes, S. (2013) “Physicians in leadership: the association between medical director involvement and staff-to-patient ratios.”Health Care Management Science, 16(2): 129-138 (DOI: 10.1007/s10729-012-9218-7)
- Eralp, M.N., Scholtes, S., Martell, G., Winter, R. and Exley, A.R. (2012) “Screening of healthcare workers for tuberculosis: development and validation of a new health economic model to inform practice.”BMJ Open, 2(2): 0- (DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2011-000630)
- Welbourne, J., Gupta, A., Scholtes, S., Dean, J. and Ahluwalia, J. (2012) “Training: where tomorrow’s leaders hit new heights.” Health Service Journal, 122(6327): 19-21
- Ching, W.K., Scholtes, S. and Zhang, S.Q. (2011) “Numerical algorithms for dynamic traffic demand estimation between zones in a network.”Engineering Optimization, 36(3): 379-400 (DOI: 10.1080/0305215042000267045)
- de Neufille, R., Hodota, K., Sussman, J. and Scholtes, S. (2008) “Real options to increase the value of intelligent transportation systems.”Transportation Research Record, (2086): 40-47 (DOI: 10.3141/2086-05)
- Kuntz, L., Scholtes, S. and Vera, A. (2008) “DRG cost weight volatility and hospital performance.”OR Spektrum, 30(2): 331-354 (DOI: 10.1007/s00291-006-0063-2)
- Mason, R., Savva, N. and Scholtes, S. (2008) “The economics of licensing contracts.”Nature Biotechnology, 26(8): 855-857 (DOI: 10.1038/bioe.2008.7)
- Kuntz, L., Scholtes, S. and Vera, A. (2007) “Incorporating efficiency in hospital-capacity planning in Germany.”European Journal of Health Economics, 8(3): 213-223 (DOI: 10.1007/s10198-006-0021-6)
- Kuosmanen, T., Post, T. and Scholtes, S. (2007) “Non-parametric tests of productive efficiency with errors-in-variables.”Journal of Econometrics, 136(1): 131-162 (DOI: 10.1016/j.jeconom.2005.08.003)
- de Neufville, R., Scholtes, S. and Wang, T. (2006) “Real options by spreadsheet: parking garage case example.”Journal of Infrastructure Systems, 12(2): 107-111 (DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)1076-0342(2006)12:2(107))
- Fletcher, R., Leyffer, S., Ralph, D. and Scholtes, S. (2006) “Local convergence of SQP methods for mathematical programs with equilibrium constraints.”SIAM Journal on Optimization, 17(1): 259-286 (DOI: 10.1137/S1052623402407382)
- Demiguel, V., Friedlander, M.P., Nogales, F.J. and Scholtes, S. (2005) “A two-sided relaxation scheme for mathematical programs with equilibrium constraints.”SIAM Journal on Optimization, 16(2): 587-609 (DOI: 10.1137/04060754x)
- Scholtes, S. (2004) “Nonconvex structures in nonlinear programming.”Operations Research, 52(3): 368-383 (DOI: 10.1287/opre.1030.0102)
- Scheel, H. and Scholtes, S. (2003) “Continuity of DEA efficiency measures.” Operations Research, 51(1): 149-159
- Scholtes, S. (2001) “Convergence properties of a regularization scheme for mathematical programs with complementarity constraints.” SIAM Journal on Optimization, 11(4): 918-936
- Scholtes, S. and Stohr, M. (2001) “How stringent is the linear independence assumption for mathematical programs with complementarity constraints?” Mathematics of Operations Research, 26(4): 851-863
- Kuntz, L. and Scholtes, S. (2000) “Measuring the robustness of empirical efficiency valuations.” Management Science, 46(6): 807-823
- Scheel, H. and Scholtes, S. (2000) “Mathematical programs with complementarity constraints: stationarity, optimality, and sensitivity.” Mathematics of Operations Research, 25(1): 1-22
- Scholtes, S. and Stohr, M. (1999) “Exact penalization of mathematical programs with equilibrium constraints.” SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization, 37(2): 617-652
- Agrachev, A.A., Pallaschke, D. and Scholtes, S. (1997) “On Morse theory for piecewise smooth functions.”Journal of Dynamical and Control Systems, 3(4): 449-469 (DOI: 10.1007/bf02463278)
- Ralph, D. and Scholtes, S. (1997) “Sensitivity analysis of composite piecewise smooth equations.” Mathematical Programming, 76(3): 593-612
- Scholtes, S. (1996) “A proof of the branching number bound for normal manifolds.” Linear Algebra and Its Applications, 246: 83-95
- Scholtes, S. (1996) “Homeomorphism conditions for coherently oriented piecewise affine mappings.” Mathematics of Operations Research, 21(4): 955-978
- Bartels, S.G., Kuntz, L. and Scholtes, S. (1995) “Continuous selections of linear functions and nonsmooth critical point theory.”Nonlinear Analysis, Theory, Methods and Applications, 24(3): 385-407 (DOI: 10.1016/0362-546x(95)91645-6)
- Kuntz, L. and Scholtes, S. (1995) “Qualitative aspects of the local approximation of a piecewise differentiable function.”Nonlinear Analysis, Theory, Methods and Applications, 25(2): 197-215 (DOI: 10.1016/0362-546x(94)00202-s)
- Kuntz, L. and Scholtes, S. (1994) “A nonsmooth variant of the Mangasarian-Fromovitz constraint qualification.”Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications, 82(1): 59-75 (DOI: 10.1007/bf02191779)
- Kuntz, L. and Scholtes, S. (1994) “Structural analysis of nonsmooth mappings, inverse functions, and metric projections.”Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications, 188(2): 346-386 (DOI: 10.1006/jmaa.1994.1431)
- Kuntz, L. and Scholtes, S. (1993) “Constraint qualifications in quasidifferentiable optimization.”Mathematical Programming, 60(1-3): 339-347 (DOI: 10.1007/bf01580618)
- Scholtes, S. (1992) “Minimal pairs of convex bodies in two dimensions.”Mathematika, 39(2): 267-273 (DOI: 10.1112/s002557930001500x)
Books, monographs, reports and case studies
- Scholtes, S. (2015) “Reorganising care at Cambridge University Hospitals.” Cambridge Judge Business School Case Study.
- Scholtes, S. (2012) Introduction to piecewise differentiable equations. New York, NY: Springer.
- de Neufville, R. and Scholtes, S. (2011) Flexibility in engineering design. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
- Powell, M.J.D. and Scholtes, S. (eds.) (2000) System modelling and optimization: methods, theory and applications. Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic.
News and insights
Research centre news
Generic drugs: how to boost supply and lower prices
Increased drug supply security and reduced costs has been achieved by Civica Rx, a health care utility taking a fresh approach, says study in NEJM Catalyst authored by 2 Cambridge Judge Business School academics.
Studies on COVID-19 modelling by Paul Kattuman and marginalisation by Shahzad Ansari are named runners-up in the annual Responsible Business Education Awards of the Financial Times.
Research centre news
Cambridge Judge honourees in prestigious University of Cambridge awards
Stefan Scholtes of Cambridge Judge Business School wins Collaboration Award in the Vice Chancellor’s Awards for Research Impact and Engagement for work on the COVID pandemic. Khal Soufani of Cambridge Judge is runner-up in Established Academic award for work in circular economy.
Media coverage
India Education Diary | 10 October 2022
University of Cambridge – Vice Chancellor’s awards for research impact and engagement 2022
Stefan Scholtes, Dennis Gillings Professor of Health Management at Cambridge Judge Business School and Director of the Centre for Health Leadership & Enterprise, has won the Collaboration Award from the University of Cambridge’s Vice Chancellor’s Awards for Research Impact and Engagement, for playing a pivotal part in enabling evidence-informed healthcare decision making during the COVID-19 crisis through his work in partnership with Public Health England (PHE) and the NHS in the East of England.
United Press International | 22 June 2021
Study: Second opinion can reduce risk for long-term opioid use
A study looking at opioid use co-authored by Stefan Scholtes, Dennis Gillings Professor of Health Management at Cambridge Judge Business School, featured in United Press International. The study found that “a “second opinion” by another prescribing doctor within 30 days of an initial opioid prescription reduced long-term opioid use after 12 months by 31%.
Management Science Review Blog | 25 March 2021
A route to decomplexifying hospitals
Hospitals are some of the most managerially intractable institutions in the annals of capitalism.” This is the stark conclusion that Clayton Christensen, Grossman and Hwang draw in their seminal book The Innovator’s Prescription, write co-authors Michael Freeman, Nicos Savva, and Professor Stefan Scholtes of Cambridge Judge Business School in a blogpost for the Management Science Review blog. Few doctors and hospital managers would disagree, if anything, that today the trend is towards larger and more complex hospitals, which does little to improve managerial (in)tractability. This leaves us with a challenge: How does one make hospitals manageable again while still maintaining or even improving the value of hospital services?
Scienmag, 6 November 2019
Admitting patterns of junior doctors may be behind ‘weekend effect’ in hospitals, study suggests
Cambridge Independent, 17 January 2018
Stabilising the patient and curing the ills of the NHS