Aravind Eye Hospital Case Analysis
Team Members:
Kiran Kishore (EPGP-04A-046)
Kiran Swaroop Pisapati (EPGP-04A-047)
Siya Vincent (EPGP-04A-092)
Srinivas Vadde (EPGP-04A-095)
Mangesh Chaudhary(EPGP-04C-047)

The Aravind Eye Hospital was started by Dr. G. Venkataswamy in the year of 1976. It began with 20 beds in 1976 to one of the biggest hospitals in the world by 1992 with 1224 beds. As DR. G. Venkataswamy was profoundly influenced by Sri Aurobindo Ghosh, and thus he named the hospital as The Aravind Eye Hospital. Its goal was to offer quality eye care at a reasonable cost.
The Elements of Aravind Eye Care System:
Free Eye Hospital:
70% of patients are treated as completely free or almost free. This is effectively used by the walk-in patients.
Eye Hospital for Paying patients:
Only 30 percent of its patients pay and that they pay less than what they would pay elsewhere in any other private hospitals.
Eye Camps:
Eye camps which are similar to kiosks with the help of bus runs were created to get the customers closer to their hospitals and to raise eye care awareness and to screen the patients in India.
Auro Lab:
Opened Aurolab, to manufacture IOL’s despite disagreements from the Indian government, because imported intraocular lenses, IOLs, were too expensive for low-income patients to afford.
Types of Surgery: ICCE and ECCE
ICCE: It is a normal cataract surgery and costs around Rs. 500 to Rs. 1000 inclusive of three to four days of post-operative recovery
ECCE: It is a IOL implant surgery and costs around Rs. 1500 to Rs. 2500
Research and training:
In order to provide continuous training to its ophthalmic personnel, they had research and training collaborations with St. Vincent’s hospital and University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary
Reach and Richness of Service
Decisions Involved:
Strategic
Eradicate the problem of avoidable blindness (non-profit)
Bring eyesight to the masses of poor people in India, Asia, Africa
Achieve economies of scale due to volume
Generate demand for quality eye-care at reasonable cost
Tactical
Use revenue generated from not-for-free hospitals to aid free eye care service
Take outside aid where possible but don’t completely depend on it
Build credibility with sincere and selfless service
Cost reduction by manufacturing IOL (instead of using imported lenses)
Attract quality employees
Different classes of services in terms of facilities and privacy with different price levels
Operational
Efficient and effective handling of patient flow
Reduce overcrowding and cramping of patients
Reduce waiting time (for patients), increase utility of facilities, doctors, nurses and other staff
Demand and supply drivers:
Demand Drivers
High demand for cataract surgery in Asia
Need for low-cost / free eye-care in lower income groups in countries like India
Good quality of eye-care for paying and non-paying patients
Supply Drivers
Staff: Jobs for nurses, doctors and other staff. Abundant supply of nursing staff that are not qualified enough but willing to get trained and serve a win-win situation
Facilities & Equipment: Integration of paying and free hospitals for economies of scale
Financial: Profits generated by paid eye care, Aid from non-governmental organizations and private bodies, Eye Camp costs