Group No. : 10

Aravind Eye Hospital (History)y Started by Dr. G. Venkataswamy popularly referred to

as Dr. V. in the year 1976. y It started in the city of Madurai, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. y 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.y Dr. V. was born in 1918 in a small

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

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

savings and with partial government support for cataract surgeries done on poor patients. y 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. y The hospital was targeted to paying as well as free patients. y High focus on productivity and volumes to generate surplus to serve the poor.

Growth Of AEHy 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. y A 70 bed hospital for free patients was added in 1978. y The existing paying hospital building was opened in 1981 with 250 beds and 80,000 sq. y The initial focus was on cataract surgery, but other specialties such as retina, cornea, glaucoma, pediatric ophthalmology, neuro-ophthalmology, uvea, low vision and orbit were gradually added.

Growth of AEH (cont..)y Other family members who were all ophthalmologists

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

Growth of AEH (cont..)y In 1991, AEH set up a facility to manufacture lenses

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

Corporate Philosophy and Missiony Mission - To eradicate needless blindness by providing

appropriate compassionate and high quality eye care for all.y 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 SystemEye Care Facilities(Aravind Eye Hospitals)

Community Outreach Programs

Education & Training Aravind PG Institute of Ophthalmology

Telemedicine

MISSION: To eradicate needless blindness by providing appropriat e compassio nat e and high quality eye care for all

Lions Aravind Institute of Community Ophthalmology (LAICO)

Making technology affordable (Aurolab)

Research Aravind Medical Research Foundation

Eye Bank Rotary Aravind International Eye Bank

Problem Addressedy In India there are only 10,000 trained y

y y

y

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.y The hallmarks of the Aravind model are quality care y y

y y

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 Volumey The surgeons average 2000 surgeries per year, versus a

national average of 220. y 200,000 is the average no patients treated in an year. y This helps to cut the costs by distributing the expenses over a large number of entities.

Low Costsy Minimizing cost incurred on payment of salaries. y 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 Centrey 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. y 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. y This training help retain the manpower in the organization.

Aurolaby 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. y Hence in 1991, AEH set up a facility to manufacture lenses to supply high quality ophthalmic consumables. y It cuts the cost of the IOL lenses to US $ 5. y Aurolab produced about one sixth of the total number of low end lenses produced in the world.

Organized Systemy The system has to be well organized to utilize the

resources to the fullest. So to optimize them is a priority. y The workflow in the outpatient departments of the different units of AEH, whether paying or free was essentially the same. y 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 Patientsy 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. y AEH use eye camps" in the local community where they evaluate and identify the patients who require medical care. y Transport these patients to the AEH s to perform the necessary operation. y Aravind organized about 1500 eye camps per year.

Financial Modely The AEH is a self sustaining model to see 1.4 million

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

Problems Faced and Corrective Measuresy Maintenance of Quality. y Maintain high motivation in its medical staff and

employees to work toward the goals and values of the organization. y Retaining the workforce. y Provoking other institutions to provide such kind of social activity.

Maintenance of Qualityy New initiative Total Quality Management (TQM)

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

High Motivation and Retention of Employeesy Continuing Education programmes. y Volume of consultation/operations done at the AEH,

add to the diverse experience of the doctors and the Surgeons. y Intense research is done to improve operational efficiency using new techniques and updated technology.