ARVIND EYE HOSPITAL

Eyesight to the Future

Group No. : 10

Aravind Eye Hospital (History)

Started by Dr. G. Venkataswamy popularly

referred to as Dr. V. in the year 1976.

It started in the city of Madurai, in the state of
Tamil Nadu, India.
Began with a modest 11 bed hospital, out of
which 5 beds were for paid treatment and 6
were reserved for free treatment.

Dr. V.
Dr. V. was born in 1918 in a small

village near Madurai.

He completed his M.B.B.S. in 1944 from
Madras University.
Worked at Army medical corps 1945-48.
Then worked at Department of
Ophthalmology at the Government Madurai
Medical College until 1976.

Inception of AEH
Dr. V. started a modest hospital with his personal

savings and with partial government support for

cataract surgeries done on poor patients.
Dr. V. was profoundly influenced by Mahatma
Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo Ghosh, and thus the
name Aravind in the Aravind Eye Hospital was
chosen to honour Sri Aurobindo.
The hospital was targeted to paying as well as
free patients.
High focus on productivity and volumes to
generate surplus to serve the poor.

Growth Of AEH
The hospital generated a surplus from the very

beginning and using such surplus it was possible

to open a 30 bed hospital within a year, in 1977.
A 70 bed hospital for free patients was added in
1978.
The existing paying hospital building was opened
in 1981 with 250 beds and 80,000 sq.
The initial focus was on cataract surgery, but
other specialties such as retina, cornea,
glaucoma, pediatric ophthalmology, neuroophthalmology, uvea, low vision and orbit were
gradually added.

Growth of AEH (cont..)

Other family members who were all

ophthalmologists were persuaded to join the

hospitals at an early stage and headed different
departments.
In 1984, a new 350 bed free hospital was opened
to cater exclusively to free patients in Madurai.
In 1985, a 100 bed hospital at Theni, a small
town 80 kilometres west of Madurai.
A 400 bed hospital was opened at Tirunelveli, a
town 160 kilometres south of Madurai, in 1988

Growth of AEH (cont..)

In 1991, AEH set up a facility to manufacture

lenses named Aurolab.

A 874 bed hospital was opened in 1997 at
Coimbatore.
A 750 bed hospital at Pondicherry in 2003.
As of 2011, the five AEHs between them had
a total of 3,590 beds, 2765 free and 825
paying.

Corporate Philosophy and Mission

Mission - To eradicate needless blindness by

providing appropriate compassionate and high

quality eye care for all.
Given the magnitude of blindness and the

challenges faced in a developing country,

Government alone cannot meet the health
needs of all.

Aravind Eye Care System

Eye Care
Facilities
(Aravind Eye
Hospitals)
Community
Outreach
Programs

Education & Training

Aravind PG Institute of
Ophthalmology

Telemedicine

MISSIO
N:
To
eradicate
needless
blindnes
s by
providing
appropri
ate
compassi
onat
e and
high
quality
eye
care for
all
Eye Bank
Rotary Aravind
International Eye Bank

Lions Aravind
Institute of
Community
Ophthalmology
(LAICO)

Making technology
affordable
(Aurolab)

Research
Aravind Medical
Research Foundation

Problem Addressed
In India there are only 10,000 trained

ophthalmologists for a population of 1 billion people.

Costs of treatment were very high especially
considering rural India, which earn less than $2/day
such a price tag puts treatment out of reach.
Facilities limited to Metro cities and other large cities.
So to work with current capacity, the resources has to
be more productive to meet the demands of the
people and limit the costs.
Unique operational technique is adopted.

Operational Technique followed.

The hallmarks of the Aravind model are quality care

and productivity at prices that everyone can afford.

Self-sustaining model.
This principle is achieved through high quality,
large volume care, well-organized system,
Screening patients, and a Sound Financial model.
At Aravind Eye Hospitals great stress is placed on
maximum utilisation of resources.
With less than 1% of the country's ophthalmic
manpower, Aravind accounts for 5% of the
ophthalmic surgeries performed nationwide.

High Volume
The surgeons average 2000 surgeries per

year, versus a national average of 220.

200,000 is the average no patients treated in
an year.
This helps to cut the costs by distributing the
expenses over a large number of entities.

Low Costs
Minimizing cost incurred on payment of

salaries.
Costs are also reduced drastically by
manufacturing the ophthalmic consumables
by themselves in India by introducing Aurolab.
The manufacturing division of AEH.

Education and Training Centre

To take up the challenge of blindness, Aravind

has recognized the need to develop human

resources - ophthalmologists, paramedics, eye
care managers and support service personnel.
Dissemination of knowledge and skills in eye
care will not only satisfy the needs of the
institution but also take care of the needs of
the country.
This training help retain the manpower in the
organization.

Aurolab
In the eighties, the cost of IOL lenses (all of

which were imported) was very high, about US

$80-100, and this made the cost of surgery quite
high.
Hence in 1991, AEH set up a facility to
manufacture lenses to supply high quality
ophthalmic consumables.
It cuts the cost of the IOL lenses to US $ 5.
Aurolab produced about one sixth of the total
number of low end lenses produced in the world.

Organized System
The system has to be well organized to utilize

the resources to the fullest. So to optimize them

is a priority.
The workflow in the outpatient departments of
the different units of AEH, whether paying or
free was essentially the same.
The process works, 1 min for registration, Case
sheet is made @ 200 cases per hour, preliminary
checks on the patients are done. The whole
process takes around two hours for a patient.

Screening Patients
Screening the patients is important to evaluate

the disease to be cured and the financial

condition of the patient, does he require free
service or not.
AEH use eye camps" in the local community
where they evaluate and identify the patients
who require medical care.
Transport these patients to the AEHs to perform
the necessary operation.
Aravind organized about 1500 eye camps per
year.

Financial Model
The AEH is a self sustaining model to see 1.4

million patients per year, and perform over

200,000 surgeries per year.
2/3 of their services are free.
Local business leaders in the various villages
sponsor an "eye camp", paying for
advertising, busing, food, transport, etc.

Problems Faced and Corrective

Measures
Maintenance of Quality.
Maintain high motivation in its medical staff

and employees to work toward the goals and

values of the organization.
Retaining the workforce.
Provoking other institutions to provide such
kind of social activity.

Maintenance of Quality
New initiative Total Quality Management

(TQM) method has been adopted in IOL clinic,

operation theatre, wards and medical records
department since December 2010.
Use of IT to maintain the accuracy and
portability of data.
The practices followed are Clinical protocols,
Standardization of procedures, Reliable
resources and in-house research centre.

High Motivation and Retention

of Employees
Continuing Education programmes.
Volume of consultation/operations done at the

AEH, add to the diverse experience of the

doctors and the Surgeons.
Intense research is done to improve
operational efficiency using new techniques
and updated technology.