Case Analysis
Aravind eye care hospital in India
Framework/description of the situation
In 1992, over 30 million cases of blindness existed all over the world, with more than 90% in Asia and Africa. Of this, India had ~20mn cases of blindness with additional 2mn cases added every year, of which upto 80% were cataract related. With an infrastructure that could handle only 1.2 million cataract cases annually, the situation is expected to get worse. The rural areas of the country were particularly exposed as just one-third of the medical infrastructure was present where two-thirds of the population lived.
Aravind Eye Hospital is a non-profit private eye hospital founded in 1976 with the aim to provide quality eye care especially to poor people. It operates 4 hospitals in South India and had screened 3.65 million patients and performed cataract operations for 335,000 patients, nearly 70% of them free of cost. Aravind generated 90% of its budget by itself from paid treatment, and in addition to the ability to generate further funds it has relied on generosity of local business community to generate local awareness. It relies on its 240 staff, including 30 doctors, who are encouraged to live Aravind’s vision so that they see eye care as a spiritual experience rather than a commercial endeavour.
Understanding the problem
Aravind has significantly scaled up over 1976-92 to increase the eye care coverage it offers. However, Aravind is nowhere close to its goal of achieving eyesight to masses of people esp. poor all over India, Asia and Africa. In this light Aravind is confronted with two core problems:
1. What should be the right growth strategy to offer best quality eyecare to all blind people?
An appropriate growth strategy for Aravind should generate mass awareness on blindness, offer a business model to provide treatment, ensure highest possible restoration of vision quality with IODs and attract high quality talent to support the hospitals.
2. How can Aravind address
Framework/description of the situation
In 1992, over 30 million cases of blindness existed all over the world, with more than 90% in Asia and Africa. Of this, India had ~20mn cases of blindness with additional 2mn cases added every year, of which upto 80% were cataract related. With an infrastructure that could handle only 1.2 million cataract cases annually, the situation is expected to get worse. The rural areas of the country were particularly exposed as just one-third of the medical infrastructure was present where two-thirds of the population lived.
Aravind Eye Hospital is a non-profit private eye hospital founded in 1976 with the aim to provide quality eye care especially to poor people. It operates 4 hospitals in South India and had screened 3.65 million patients and performed cataract operations for 335,000 patients, nearly 70% of them free of cost. Aravind generated 90% of its budget by itself from paid treatment, and in addition to the ability to generate further funds it has relied on generosity of local business community to generate local awareness. It relies on its 240 staff, including 30 doctors, who are encouraged to live Aravind’s vision so that they see eye care as a spiritual experience rather than a commercial endeavour.
Understanding the problem
Aravind has significantly scaled up over 1976-92 to increase the eye care coverage it offers. However, Aravind is nowhere close to its goal of achieving eyesight to masses of people esp. poor all over India, Asia and Africa. In this light Aravind is confronted with two core problems:
1. What should be the right growth strategy to offer best quality eyecare to all blind people?
An appropriate growth strategy for Aravind should generate mass awareness on blindness, offer a business model to provide treatment, ensure highest possible restoration of vision quality with IODs and attract high quality talent to support the hospitals.
2. How can Aravind address