All you need to know about the existence and sustainability of the great Aravind eye care by Dr. V. a very comprehensive and appropriate description about this business.

1. MCDONALD’S
OF CATARACT
SURGERY:
ARAVIND EYE
CARE SYSTEM

2. ABOUT ARAVIND EYE HOSPITAL
 Founded: 1976, Tamil Nadu, India.
 Founder: Dr. G. Venkataswamy also known popularly as Dr. V.
 Aravind Eye Hospital delivers:
i. High-quality
ii. Low cost ophthalmological care
 Care is provided to some of India’s poorest people
 5 tertiary eye care centers in India
 5 secondary eye care centers in India
 6 outpatient eye care centers in India
REF: https://bmtoolbox.Net/stories/aravind/ 2

3. REF: http://ictph.Org.In/the-aravind-eye-care-system-an-ophthalmic-mark-of-excellence/ 3

4. 4

5. THE BEGINNING....
 Dr. V retired from performing eye surgery in a Government Hospital in South India.
 Devoted his remaining years to eliminate needless blindness among Indian populations.
 Established an 11-bed hospital with six beds reserved for patients who could not pay and give for those
who would pay modest rates.
 Persuaded his siblings to join him in mortgaging their houses, pooling their savings and pawning their
jewels to build it.
 Dr. V took the unusual step of asking even poor patients to pay whenever they could, believing the
volume of paying business would sustain the rest.
 Poor people with cataracts in Tamil Nadu can get their sight restored for about $40.
 If they can't afford that, it's free.
REF: Chaudhary, D., Dr, ;, Ashwin, G., Modi and Kalyan Reddy, D. (2012). RIGHT TO SIGHT: A MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY ON ARAVIND EYE HOSPITALS.
International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2(1).
5

6.  His model became the subject of a Harvard Business School case study, and is being copied in
hospitals around the subcontinent.
 Just as Ford, McDonalds and Toyota focused on continuously improving and extending their system
models.
 Aravind Eye Hospitals gradually shifted to become the Aravind Eye Care System.
 Key elements were added – for example, a dedicated factory for producing lenses, a training centre to
provide key skills, specialist ophthalmic research centres, and an international eye bank.
 Today, the Aravind Eye Care System is a network of hospitals, clinics, community outreach efforts,
factories, and research and training institutes in south India that has treated more than 32 million
patients and has performed 4 million surgeries.
 Currently Aravind is planning to export their business model to Nigeria.
6
REF: Chaudhary, D., Dr, ;, Ashwin, G., Modi and Kalyan Reddy, D. (2012). RIGHT TO SIGHT: A MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY ON ARAVIND EYE HOSPITALS.
International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2(1).

7. 7REF: http://ictph.Org.In/the-aravind-eye-care-system-an-ophthalmic-mark-of-excellence/

8. 8REF: https://bmtoolbox.Net/stories/aravind/

9. TIMELINE
2012 Receives Hermes Award instituted by The European Institute for Creative Strategies and
Innovation
2010 Receives Hilton Humanitarian Prize, the most prestigious global award for humanitarian
endeavours
2004 Becomes first primary eye examination centre in Ambasamudram
1996 Establishes teaching and training institute, Lions Aravind Institute of Community
Ophthalmology (LAICO)
1992 Establishes Aurolab, a non-profit charitable trust to provide modern technology at
affordable costs
REF: https://www.ibef.org/industry/healthcare-india/showcase/aravind-eye-care 9

10. FLOW OF TREATMENT: VISION CENTRE
10REF: http://ictph.Org.In/the-aravind-eye-care-system-an-ophthalmic-mark-of-excellence/

11. BUSINESS MODEL
I. Value Proposition & Customer:
 Twelve million people are blind in India, the vast majority of them from cataracts, which tend to strike
people in India before 60 — earlier than in the West.
 Blindness robs a poor person of his livelihood and with it, his sense of self-worth; it is often a fatal
disease. A blind person, the Indian saying goes, is “a mouth with no hands.”
 Aravind Eye Care, the largest and most productive eye care facility in the world, offers free eye care
and surgery to 70% of its patients.
 Therefore they run two different kinds of hospitals – the Main Hospital and the Free Hospital.
 The Free Hospital focuses on offering basic but quality service for people in need: No bed is provided
to the patients but a small pillow and a coir mat.
11REF: https://bmtoolbox.Net/stories/aravind/

12.  The Main Hospital functions like a regular ophthalmology hospital.
 All patients admitted here pay for the hospital’s services.
 The hospital offers different classes of rooms with different levels of privacy and comfort.
 Treatment performed in the Main Hospital varies from simple treatments to extremely complex
surgeries like retina detachment repair.
II. Mission & Core Values:
 Mission to eliminate needless blindness.
 By adopting an efficient operation procedure like a fast-food chain assembly line, Aravind manages to
keep its cost low without compromising the quality.
 A majority of its services is done free of charge.
12REF: https://bmtoolbox.Net/stories/aravind/

13. III. Value Formation & Core Activities:
 “Achieving scale and improving productivity has enabled us to keep costs down and treat hundreds of thousands of
patients each year. It has allowed us to give back to society, to the communities.” Dr Srinivasan, Director of Projects,
Aravind Eye Care System (source: McKinsey “Driving down the cost of high-quality care—Lessons from the Aravind Eye
Care System”).
 Aravind does 60% more eye surgeries than the UK National Health System, at one-thousandth of the cost.
 Efficient operation procedures and a high volume of patients enable this.
 The hospitals operate like an assembly line with a minimum turnaround time. (No-Frill Business Model).
 This ensures the surgeons to be able to carry out a significantly larger number of surgeries than is possible normally.
 Batches of patients would be prepared before surgery and bandaged afterwards by Aravind-trained nurses.
 After completed surgery, surgeons immediately move to the next operating table where a second support team is waiting
with the patient ready to be operated.
 This results in tremendous efficiency. Aravind doctors can do more than 2,000 surgeries a year, while the average at other
Indian hospitals is around 300.
 To support the high volume, Aravind reaches the masses through eye camps, which take place in rural and semi-urban
areas.
 At the camp, patients are screened and those found suitable for surgery are prepared. Another major factor that bring
down costs significantly is that Aravind has its own factory producing intraocular lenses.
13
REF: https://bmtoolbox.Net/stories/aravind/

14. IV. Revenue Model:
 “Aravind is not just a health success, it is a financial success. Many health non-profits in developing
countries rely on government help or donations, but Aravind’s core services are sustainable.” NY times
Opinioator: A Hospital Network with a Vision.
 The revenue generated from the Main Hospital enables the Free Hospital to provide free eye treatment
to the poorer section of the society.
 Patients are brought in from eye camps for free treatment. (Get one – give one business model).
 Patients at the Main Hospital can choose between different classes of rooms, with different levels of
privacy and facilities and consequently different price levels. (Add on business model).
14REF: https://bmtoolbox.Net/stories/aravind/

15. V. Organization:
 Efficiency resulting from the innovation in operation procedure is definitely a key strength of Aravind
Eye Care.
 In addition, “it is not leadership in the sense of organizing and making it work.
 It’s leadership that comes from empathizing with the community,” Dr. Venkataswamy said in an
interview with the NY Times.
 “Never restrict demand. Build your capacity to meet the demand.” The Aravind Eye Care network
includes five hospitals, a manufacturing site for ophthalmic products, a research foundation and a
training center.
15REF: https://bmtoolbox.Net/stories/aravind/

16. 16

17. CHALLENGES
I. Transportation:
 Transportation is a problem for some of the selected patients from eye camps.
 They may not be able to travel to the hospital for surgery or to stay away from home for long periods,
hence lead to a drop in the number of patients accepting surgery.
II. Irregular patient flow:
 The flow of patients would be much larger immediately after an eye camp and being much less at other
times.
 The hospital was overcrowded while it operated much below is capacity at other times.
III. Scalability:
 Patients are required to come to the hospital for treatment. The camp could not be conducted at a
location that was very far from the hospitals
17REF: https://bmtoolbox.Net/stories/aravind/

18. POSITIVE IMPACT
 Reduce number of blindness among poor population
 Enable longer economic productivity in poor regions by improving health condition (vision).
 Lower the cost of lenses production
 NO NEGATIVE IMPACT AS SUCH
18REF: https://bmtoolbox.Net/stories/aravind/

19. 19REF: https://bmtoolbox.Net/stories/aravind/

20. PESTEL
ANALYSIS
REF: https://casesteam.com/harvard/aravind-eye-health-care-operations/pestel-analysis.php 20

21. 21

22. SWOT
ANALYSIS
22

23. SWOT
The following SWOT analysis captures the key strengths and weaknesses within the Aravind Eye Care
System and describes the opportunities and threats facing the company.
I. STRENGTHS:
 Integration of the paying and free hospitals for economies of scale.
 Goodwill.
 Low cost of operation.
 Own excellent staff and trained manpower.
 Flexibility of machinery.
II. WEAKNESS:
 No incentive.
 Paying lesser than market.
23
Deepa A, Kousalya P, Competitor analysis and SWOT analysis of Aravind eye hospital, Coimbatore district of Tamilnadu state, India.

24. I. OPPORTUNITIES:
 20M blind people.
 2M added per year.
 Mass camps enabled to reach urban and sub-urban
II. THREATS:
 Irregular patient inflow.
 Huge competition.
 Scalability.
 Family run organization.
24
Deepa A, Kousalya P, Competitor analysis and SWOT analysis of Aravind eye hospital, Coimbatore district of Tamilnadu state, India.

25. BREAK EVEN ANALYSIS
REF: Cpt, J., Beheler, M., Philip, D., Cpt, E., Gonzalez, C., Stephanie, K., Cpt, M. and Smith (2015). Aravind Eye Hospital Case Study US Army-Baylor Masters of
Health Administration Marketing Management MMKT 5470.
25

26. YEARLY GROWTH FORECAST OF ATTENDANCE
AT EYE CAMPS
26
REF: Cpt, J., Beheler, M., Philip, D., Cpt, E., Gonzalez, C., Stephanie, K., Cpt, M. and Smith (2015). Aravind Eye Hospital Case Study US Army-Baylor Masters of
Health Administration Marketing Management MMKT 5470.

27. YEARLY GROWTH FORECAST OF
NUMBER OF EYE CAMPS
27
REF: Cpt, J., Beheler, M., Philip, D., Cpt, E., Gonzalez, C., Stephanie, K., Cpt, M. and Smith (2015). Aravind Eye Hospital Case Study US Army-Baylor Masters of
Health Administration Marketing Management MMKT 5470.

28. MARKETING EXPENSE BUDGET
28
REF: Cpt, J., Beheler, M., Philip, D., Cpt, E., Gonzalez, C., Stephanie, K., Cpt, M. and Smith (2015). Aravind Eye Hospital Case Study US Army-Baylor Masters of
Health Administration Marketing Management MMKT 5470.

29. COMPETITION
 AECS’s current competition is divided into three major organizations.
 The largest competitor is the private sector which accounts for 40% of all eye care services in India.
 However, there is a fee that is incurred for services.
 The next organization is the government.
 This organization is funded by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare accounting for another 30%
of eye care services in India.
 This amounts to 425 district hospitals (about one for every two million people) within India.
 The government offers free eye care to people who cannot afford private treatment.
 The final organizations are the volunteer groups and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
 They make up the remaining 30% of eye care services in India.
 Like the government, they offer free services to the population.
29
REF: Chaudhary, D., Dr, ;, Ashwin, G., Modi and Kalyan Reddy, D. (2012). RIGHT TO SIGHT: A MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY ON ARAVIND EYE HOSPITALS.
International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2(1).

30. WHAT ARAVIND FEELABOUT THEIR
SUCCESS?
 They look at it from two perspectives.
 From an internal perspective, they rate ourselves to be quite successful when we use indicators like
number of patients treated, number of people trained, level of capacity utilization, financial
sustainability, etc.
 However, when they look at it from the community perspective they are far from being successful.
 This comes from the vision ‘Eliminate Needless blindness’
 This makes them feel responsible to reach out to a larger community in the immediate surroundings of
Aravind and its service area, our country and beyond our country.
30
REF: Chaudhary, D., Dr, ;, Ashwin, G., Modi and Kalyan Reddy, D. (2012). RIGHT TO SIGHT: A MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY ON ARAVIND EYE HOSPITALS.
International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2(1).

31. IS IT ONLY A MATTER OF SCALE?
 While they have made reasonably good progress and have been successful in treating cataract, they are
nowhere near being successful in handling other eye conditions including refractive errors.
 They estimate that less than 10% of those who can benefit by a pair of glasses are wearing them.
 Similarly for many other conditions like diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, etc, very little has been done.
 In addition, there are many parts of the country where the level of eye care is a very small percentage of
what it needs to be.
 From this perspective we can‘t claim to have been successful (yet) in eliminating needless blindness.
31
REF: Chaudhary, D., Dr, ;, Ashwin, G., Modi and Kalyan Reddy, D. (2012). RIGHT TO SIGHT: A MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY ON ARAVIND EYE HOSPITALS.
International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2(1).

32. HOW THIS MODEL MAKES BUSINESS
SENSE?
 This model makes very sound business sense because it‘s fundamentally built on a few core principles.
 The first one is in terms of market development and through that demand generation.
 This is a process of converting a need in to a demand and in the process we get a significant percentage
of this to our own facilities.
 The second core principle is excellence in execution of ensuring a high level of efficiency in providing
the treatment, including outpatient services and surgeries.
 The third core principle is one of quality.
 The aim is to ensure that the patient regardless of whether he is a free or a private patient gets value for
his investment in money or time.
32
REF: Chaudhary, D., Dr, ;, Ashwin, G., Modi and Kalyan Reddy, D. (2012). RIGHT TO SIGHT: A MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY ON ARAVIND EYE HOSPITALS.
International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2(1).

33.  The fourth principle is of sustainability wherein they set the prices not so much based on what it costs
us but on how much the various economic strata of the community can afford to pay.
 It then work backwards to contain the costs within these estimates.
 This leads to not just financial viability but a higher order of management, as well as inculcating a
certain culture in the organization.
 The combination of these four principles builds a sustainable programme as they have demonstrated
over the last three decades and replicated with similar results in over 200 other eye hospitals.
33
REF: Chaudhary, D., Dr, ;, Ashwin, G., Modi and Kalyan Reddy, D. (2012). RIGHT TO SIGHT: A MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY ON ARAVIND EYE HOSPITALS.
International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2(1).

34. REFERENCES
1. http://ictph.org.in/the-aravind-eye-care-system-an-ophthalmic-mark-of-excellence/
2. https://bmtoolbox.net/stories/aravind/
3. Chaudhary, D., Dr, ;, Ashwin, G., Modi and Kalyan Reddy, D. (2012). RIGHT TO SIGHT: A MANAGEMENT CASE
STUDY ON ARAVIND EYE HOSPITALS. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2(1).
4. McKinsey: Driving Down the cost of high-quality care Lessons from the Aravind Eye care system
5. New York Times Opinioator: The Hospital Network with a vision
6. Harvard Business School: Aravind Eye-Care System – McDonaldization of Eye-Care:
7. https://casesteam.com/harvard/aravind-eye-health-care-operations/pestel-analysis.php
8. https://www.essay48.com/term-paper/21293-Aravind-Eye-Hospital-Madurai-India-In-Service-for-Sight-Chinese-
Version-Pestel-Analysis
9. https://www.ibef.org/industry/healthcare-india/showcase/aravind-eye-care
10. Cpt, J., Beheler, M., Philip, D., Cpt, E., Gonzalez, C., Stephanie, K., Cpt, M. and Smith (2015). Aravind Eye Hospital
Case Study US Army-Baylor Masters of Health Administration Marketing Management MMKT 5470.
11. Deepa A, Kousalya P, Competitor analysis and SWOT analysis of Aravind eye hospital, Coimbatore district of Tamilnadu
state, India.
34

35. 35