Introduction
The Aravind Eye Hospital (AEH) is a unique healthcare system in India that has successfully addressed the issue of blindness in the country. This hospital is known for its affordable eye care services, high-quality treatments, and compassionate patient care. The success of this hospital has attracted the attention of many researchers and strategists who have studied its innovative business model and management practices. AEH’s innovative business model, which includes a focus on customer needs, process optimization, and cost reduction, has enabled it to provide high-quality eye care services at affordable prices, and this model can be replicated in other healthcare areas.
Key Factors for Success and Innovation
The key factors that have led to Aravind’s success in delivering world-class eye care to the poorest people in rural and urban India are the innovation in workflow organization, a nonprofit trust structure, transparency in operational details, and a culture of service, humility, kindness, and equality. Additionally, Aravind’s innovation is in workflow organization, from patient identification to postoperative care (Prahalad, 2005). Aravind has built the world’s premier eye care institution by focusing on workflow innovations and creating a chain of hospitals and other facilities working under a nonprofit trust (Pahurkar, 2015). They have built an eye care system consisting of a center for manufacturing synthetic lenses, sutures, and pharmaceuticals related to eye care; an institute for training; a research institute; an international eye bank; women and child care center; a postgraduate institute of ophthalmology awarding MS degrees and offering fellowship programs; and a center for community outreach programs.
Business Model for AEH
The business model for AEH is centered around the mission of eradicating needless blindness by providing compassionate and high-quality eye care for all. AEH has a culture of service, humility, kindness, and equality. It only employs full-time doctors and encourages them to teach and do research. The staff of AEH includes medical officers, nurses, counselors, and paramedics who support the doctors. AEH also has various units such as LAICO, Aurolab, and the Aravind Medical Eye Bank Research Foundation to provide community outreach programs, research, education, and training and make technology affordable (Prahalad, 2005). The organization’s systematic approach supports doctors to be at their productive best and performs cataract surgeries with IOLs.
Roles of Clinical and Support Staff
The clinical and support staff at the Aravind Eye Care System are dedicated to the mission of eradicating needless blindness by providing appropriate, compassionate, and high-quality eye care for all. They are permanent hospital employees and do not engage in private practice. The doctors are encouraged to teach and do research at the Lions Aravind Institute of Community Ophthalmology (LAICO) and the Aravind PG Institute of Ophthalmology (Prahalad, 2005). They can also initiate projects independently and receive support from the Aravind Eye Care System through the Aravind Medical Research Foundation. The overall culture at AEH is one of service, humility, kindness, and equality, and there is no ulterior motive for the staff.
Linking AEH’s Innovation to Blue Ocean Strategy
AEH’s innovation to bring world-class eye care to the poorest people in India can be linked to the Blue Ocean Strategy. Blue Ocean Strategy creates new market spaces and demand by offering unique value propositions that differentiate a company from its competitors (Kim & Mauborgne, 2014). Aravind Eye Care System created a new market space by focusing on providing eye care to the poor and rural areas, a segment of the market that was largely underserved. By innovating in workflow organization, Aravind delivered high-quality eye care efficiently and effectively. This enabled them to create a new market space and differentiate themselves from other eye care providers, making them the largest eye care system in the world and achieving world-class outcome rates.
Weaknesses of the Aravind Model
The Aravind Eye Care System has successfully provided high-quality and affordable eye care to many people. However, some things could be improved in the model. For example, the system relies heavily on the skills of a few key individuals, which could be a risk in the long term. Also, the hospitals are located only in southern India, and expanding to other regions could be challenging (Prahalad, 2005). If the Gates Foundation donated $100 million to establish five new hospitals in the next two years, it could be a good opportunity for the organization to expand its reach and impact. However, it would be important to carefully plan and execute the expansion to ensure that the quality of care is maintained and the organization’s mission is not compromised.
Replication of AEH model
The AEH model has successfully provided high-quality eye care at an affordable cost. The components of this model, such as a focus on efficiency, innovation, and teamwork, could be replicated in other medical areas. However, the model would need to be adapted to suit the specific needs of that area. For instance, cancer treatment involves complex medical procedures, and the model must incorporate state-of-the-art technology and specialized training. On the other hand, replicating the AEH model in fine arts, such as oil painting, would be unlikely, as the model is specific to healthcare and may not apply to other domains.
Conclusion
The Aravind Eye Hospital’s success in providing affordable and high-quality eye care to the poor and rural areas of India is due to its innovative business model, organization of workflow, nonprofit trust structure, the culture of service, humility, kindness, and equality. The AEH model could be replicated in other healthcare areas, but it would need to be adapted to suit the specific needs of that area. While there are some areas for improvement in the model, such as the heavy reliance on a few key individuals and the limited geographic scope, expanding the reach and impact of the organization could be possible with careful planning and execution. Overall, the AEH model has shown that providing quality healthcare services at an affordable cost is possible with the right approach and mindset.
References
Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R. (2014). Blue Ocean strategy, expanded edition: How to create uncontested market space and make the competition irrelevant. Harvard business review Press. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=gwypBQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR4&dq=Blue+Ocean+Strategy+is+about+creating+new+market+spaces+and+demand+by+offering+unique+value+propositions+that+differentiate+a+company+from+its+competitors&ots=bPaaHZ5d6w&sig=tINKiJuE1vbPavvokyvyuB5DJMA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
Pahurkar, R. N. (2015). Case Study on Innovation and Creativity in Service Organization Aravind Eye Care System. International Journal of Management (IJM), 6(8). https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/47778901/IJM_06_08_002-libre.pdf?1470297339=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DCASE_STUDY_ON_INNOVATION_AND_CREATIVITY.pdf&Expires=1681288503&Signature=f8Ww7v-hgK5gc8biL721v8oyqfu-cXd7XMDlvrvZKJnrV0QOectzHlLF8SULpbx4~k-RlMOEyUNevncd4kR7Rp~h7a8lsKFnhLf2ONIy-ThXnK1ydEd-0SssQY0bigOQ5K6CFWM0eU52RFNCzQfpF-ufl0GLeN~fHJ1sayW-4Gjw4dKt0NiOdglNyYnyWqnvduYZDkvY4y5ErVqIYizeeIHxqOgHxfPHov-N2KZAWceNCjWFPpi85QyxgI3UFwHB-BzllvnJCH8BFMJxJn3qYUZhFuMYDgqB5Tz-8K6RyTQWSaPUVxSxGRQGmCe-4dGWWloiISDca-vDCnZdm7yM4Q__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA
Prahalad, C. K. (2005). The Aravind eye-care system: delivering the most precious gift. The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits. Upper Saddle River: Wharton School Publishing, 265-86.
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