A life dedicated to improving human
health at every scale
In William’s career at the forefront of medical research and application, he has educated a generation of doctors at Harvard Medical School, designed the strategy to develop the first treatment for HIV/AIDS, and led the team that pioneered the development of new drugs based on information from the human genome. His relentless focus on delivering world-changing results led TIME Magazine to name him one of the “25 Most Influential Global Business Executives.”
Today, as the Chair and President of ACCESS Health International, William is dedicated to ensuring that quantum advancements in medical technology translate to improved health outcomes around the world.
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William A. Haseltine
William A. Haseltine PhD has a prolific career in science, business, and philanthropy around the world. He was a professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, and he is well known for his pioneering work on cancer, HIV/AIDS, and genomics.
He has founded more than a dozen biotechnology companies, including Human Genome Sciences, and he serves on advisory boards for numerous international entities, from the Brookings Institution to the Council on Foreign Relations. He has authored more than 200 manuscripts in peer reviewed journals.
William is currently Chair and President of ACCESS Health International, Inc., as well as Chairman of the Haseltine Foundation for Science and the Arts.
William A. Haseltine PhD has an active career in science, business, and philanthropy. He was a professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health from 1976-1993 where he was Founder and Chair of two academic research departments, the Division of Biochemical Pharmacology and the Division of Human Retrovirology. He is well known for his pioneering work on cancer, HIV/AIDS, and genomics. He has authored more than 200 manuscripts in peer reviewed journals.
He is a pioneer in biotechnology having founded more than a dozen biotechnology companies in fields ranging from development of cutting edge pharmaceuticals to new materials and fuels. He is the Founder of Human Genome Sciences, Inc. and served as the Chairman and CEO of the company for twelve years. Eight pharmaceutical products from companies he founded are currently approved by U.S. and international regulatory agencies.
William is currently Chair and President of ACCESS Health International, Inc., a Foundation active in the United States, India, China, Singapore, and the Philippines (www.accessh.org). He is also Chairman Haseltine Foundation for Science and the Arts.
William’s work has been driven by his deep appreciation of the human condition and been inspired by the great works of art, architecture, music, and literature that illuminate the essence of human existence. He is a supporter of many of the great cultural institutions of today, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Opera, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the IE University, Madrid, a Lifetime Governor of the New York Academy of Sciences, a Trustee of the New York Academy of Medicine, and a member the board of the Lee Berger Trust for Paleoanthropology, South Africa. He is a trustee of the Brookings Institution, a member of the advisory council on Creativity and Innovation of the NYU-Shanghai University, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is the Chairman of the US-China Health Summit.
World Class offers an inside view into the remarkable turnaround of an underperforming medical center in New York City into a world class institution. Ten years ago, NYU Langone Health was losing tens of millions of dollars and ranked in the bottom third of academic medical center hospitals for quality and safety. Today, the medical center delivers world class patient care and generates a substantial surplus.
In World Class, scientist, businessman, and expert in biotechnology and healthcare system development Dr. William A. Haseltine showcases NYU Langone Health as an inspiring model for all business leaders to emulate. Using real world conditions to highlight the information science and requisite interpersonal relationships needed for business transformation, World Class provides universal lessons for policymakers and leaders in all fields.
“This story gives management and leadership in any industry the template by which to ensure their businesses thrive and flourish, even when in the midst of the most dire circumstances.”
—Jack Welch, former CEO and Chairman of General Electric
Aging Well: Solutions to the Most Pressing Global Challenges of Aging is an open access book that outlines the challenges of supporting the health and wellbeing of older adults around the world and offers examples of solutions designed by stakeholders, healthcare providers, and public, private and nonprofit organizations in the United States. The solutions presented address challenges including: providing person-centered long-term care, making palliative care accessible in all healthcare settings and the home, enabling aging-in-place, financing long-term care, improving care coordination and access to care, delivering hospital-level and emergency care in the home and retirement community settings, merging health and social care, supporting people living with dementia and their caregivers, creating communities and employment opportunities that are accessible and welcoming to those of all ages and abilities, and combating the stigma of aging. The innovative programs of support and care in Aging Well serve as models of excellence that, when put into action, move health spending toward a sustainable path and greatly contribute to the well-being of older adults.
Every Second Counts tells the story of the largest emergency services provider in the world. The Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) launched in 2005 in a single state in India, Andhra Pradesh. Today, it operates in seventeen Indian states and territories and serves a population of more than seven hundred million. Each day, the emergency system receives one hundred and fifty thousand calls and responds to almost twenty five thousand emergencies. The service is free to the user and costs EMRI less than $15 USD per emergency, less than one percent of what an emergency call costs in the United States.
Aging with Dignity: Innovation and Challenge in Sweden – The Voice of Care Professionals is a study in the future of long term care through the lens of the Swedish healthcare system. It is based on a series of interviews ACCESS Health conducted with more than thirty long term care professionals in Sweden.
Dementia takes a toll on every person it touches, the person living with dementia, their loved ones, caregivers, family and friends. There is no telling when or whom it will hit. The effect of dementia on families is immense. The impact on societies is even greater.
Voices in Dementia Care is based on a series of interviews with dementia care experts across Europe and the United States. It captures the voices of these care professionals as they describe the challenges of delivering high quality dementia care with limited resources. The book also provides a critical analysis of best practices that can be adapted and applied by both institutional and home care providers.
Published in 2013, Affordable Excellence: The Singapore Healthcare Story: How to Create and Maintain Sustainable Healthcare Systems, presents Haseltine’s and ACCESS Health International’s systematic study of the Singapore healthcare system and how the country plans to confront the growing impact of demographic change on the healthcare system, the economy, and the city. The book includes a detailed description of the current healthcare system: its origins, its finance, and its performance.
Epilogue to Affordable Excellence – this follow-up to Affordable Excellence provides a summary analysis of the significant changes in the financing and operation of the Singapore healthcare system to accommodate the growing needs of the elderly population and to encourage young people to have children between April 2013 and April 2014.
“Our first ten years have exceeded my best hopes and aspirations. I believe we have made an impact on government policies and care practice on a global scale.”
—William Haseltine
This book offers a summary of the first ten years of ACCESS Health International, from its beginning as an organization with a single office in Hyderabad, India to one with activities in many of the major cities of the world, including New Delhi, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Manila, Stockholm, and New York.
Improving the Health of Mother and Child: Solutions from India is a compendium of sixteen case studies of maternal and child healthcare providers in India. The case studies identify and document effective service delivery approaches from maternal and child healthcare providers in India. The providers profiled here were selected from over three hundred organizations examined by ACCESS Health in conjunction with the Center for Health Market Innovations. The profiled providers are a mix of for profit and non profit. Some provide hospital based services, and others provide community based services. Some work closely with the government and others work independently. All have innovative approaches to maternal child care that promote access to high quality, affordable care. These studies provide examples of what works for policymakers and healthcare providers. The case studies are also intended for use by medical and public health schools as part of the international health curriculum focused on improvement in maternal and child health.
Throughout Dr. Haseltine’s prolific career, he has worked with a stunning variety of impactful organizations to improve our world. To learn more about his current focus on improving access to high quality, affordable healthcare for people everywhere, please visit the ACCESS Health International website.
William A. Haseltine PhD has an active career in science, business, and philanthropy. He was a professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health from 1976-1993 where he was Founder and Chair of two academic research departments, the Division of Biochemical Pharmacology and the Division of Human Retrovirology. He is well known for his pioneering work on cancer, HIV/AIDS, and genomics. He has authored more than 200 manuscripts in peer reviewed journals.
