Globally, 39 million people live with some form of visual impairment. In India approximately 8 million people are blind, the primary cause being cataract, a disease which can usually be treated easily, cheaply, and effectively. But receiving effective and affordable treatment is difficult for large parts of the Indian population, where care delivery is unequally accessible. Aravind Eye Care Systems has made it their mission to eradicate needless blindness and offers access to care for millions in Southern India.
This paper examines the factors of Aravind's success which enabled them to examine 14,000 patients and perform 1,600 surgeries daily, looks at how they transform care delivery, and evaluates how these principles can be applied by other care providers.
This thought leadership paper is co-authored with Dr. Aravind Srinivasan from Aravind Eye Care Systems and is part of the Siemens Healthineers Insights Series. It provides practical solutions on ‘Transforming the system of care’.
How to improve access to care? - Key takeaways from Aravind Eye Care Systems
Aravind Eye Care System's founding mission to eliminate needless blindness guides their approach to healthcare. To achieve this, they successfully improved access to care by addressing the following three dimensions:
- Affordability: offering health services that do not cause financial hardship
- Availability: ensuring that healthcare services are there when and where they are needed
- Acceptability: helping populations to understand and utilize their care options
The successful application of these three principles has allowed Aravind Eye Care Systems to deliver high quality eye care in India, while also building a successful and growing enterprise.
About Dr. Aravind Srinivasan
Dr. Aravind Srinivasan is the Director of Projects at Aravind Eye Care Systems, the world's largest provider of ophthalmological services with around 100 sites throughout India. He graduated in medicine from PSG Institute of Medical Sciences, Coimbatore, South India in 1992 and completed his residency in ophthalmology leading to a Masters in Ophthalmology from Aravind Eye Institute and Postgraduate Institute of Ophthalmology, Madurai, South India in 1996.
On the clinical front, Dr. Aravind is a practicing high-volume cataract surgeon. He also works closely with all stakeholders in various branches to ensure harmonious and efficient work, mentoring staff, and encourage innovations to ensure better, more patient-centered care.
Dr. Aravind also spoke at the Siemens Healthineers Summit 2019 about how to deliver high quality eye surgery at low costs and improving access to care in India and beyond. Watch his talk on how transforming care delivery.
A vision for change: ophthalmology and access to affordable eye care in India
Blindness affects up to 39 million people worldwide – and one of the problems treating it is the lack of access to basic healthcare. Tackling this problem requires more than mere structural changes in the way we provide care, explains Aravind Srinivasan, MD and Chief Medical Officer at the Aravind Eye Hospital in Chennai.
Listen to the podcast with Aravind Srinivasan, MD, and Christoph Zindel, member of the Managing Board at Siemens Healthineers and how Dr. Srinivasan describes the success of one man’s vision and strategies to significantly expand access to eye care in India.For more Insights, please visit siemens-healthineers.com/insights-series.
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