Introduction
Established in 1976 with the mission to eliminating needless blindness, Aravind is the largest and most productive eye care facility in the world. The brainchild of Dr. Venkataswamy, Aravind Eye Hospital provided free eye care and surgery to millions of needy patients apart from regular patients. Currently, there were 3 Aravind Eye Care hospitals across the state of Tamil Nadu – at Madurai, Tirunelveli and Theni. A new facility at Coimbatore was also under consideration. Since its inception, the Aravind group of hospitals had screened 3.65 million patients and performed some 335,000 cataract operations nearly 70% of which were done free of charge.
Operations
Aravind Eye Hospital adopted a unique model in order to try and achieve its vision of eradicating blindness in India.
Eye Care Delivery Model
The hospital ran 2 different kinds of hospitals – the main hospital and the free hospital.
Main Hospital
The Main Hospital functioned like a regular ophthalmology hospital. All patients admitted here paid for the hospital’s services apart from a few complicated cases which were brought over from the Free Hospital for diagnosis and treatment. The hospital provided different kinds of rooms class A, B and C, each with somewhat different levels of privacy and facilities and consequently different price levels. Treatments performed in the main hospital varied from simple treatments to extremely complex surgeries like retina detachment repair. The cataract surgeries done at the main hospital were primarily the ECCE cataract surgeries that required an operating microscope and were also more expensive since it required an IOL lens.
Free Hospital
The Free Hospital provided free eye treatment to the poorer section of the society free of charge. Patients brought in from eye camps were brought here for treatment. The patients in the Free Hospital were not provided a bed but were provided with choir mats and a small pillow. The hospital primarily provided ICCE type of cataract surgery with an ECCE recommended only when the ICCE could not be carried out due to medical reasons.
Eye Camps
The eye camps were the most important means through which Aravind was able to reach the masses. These camps were conducted in rural and semi-urban areas with the help of the local community with either a local business enterprise or a social service organization taking the lead role in organizing the event. Public announcements, newspaper advertisements, and other material were distributed to publicize the camp and increase participation in and around the town in which the camp was being held 2-3 weeks in advance.
Optometry involves of a combination of intricate practical skills and academia allowing the improvement of an individual’s vision as an outcome changing their quality of life. I would feel privileged to gain the opportunity to study Optometry enabling me to improve the ocular health and vision of others as it would be a valuable contribution to the society.
Miguel, Maria Fernanda, ProfessorH. Kent Bowen. Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston and Dr. Bradford J. Shingleton. Harvard Business School. Rev. May 20, 1997.
Optometrists have accepted vision therapy, which is a medical treatment for optical muscle disabilities, as a feasible treatment used for eye related problems; claiming the treatment can strengthen vision and give the patient the opportunity to understand visuals quicker and clearer (Press). Vision therapy originated in the 1950s and over the past 25 years, has gained popularity, mainly because of new technological innovations in the field of treatment. Generally, vision therapy is prescribed as a measure mainly for people between the ages of 3 and 18. With the results from a comprehensive series of eye tests, the optometrist can work with the patient using special instruments—prisms, filters, occluders, and eye lenses—and strengthen the eye muscles, thus improving sight. According to optometrists in favor of vision therapy, these methods of treatment using these instruments function as safer routes to repair eye disabilities. Although vision therapy can yield favorable results, the practice as a treatment for innate eye disabilities has been in hot debate lately; as it can exceed $8000 and insurance companies do not cover the treatment. For decades, insurance companies have refused to accept vision therapy as a legitimate method for repairing eyesight (Boink). Concomitant with lack of insurance, the cost for a full treatment can exceed $8000, and doctors cannot guarantee a successful outcome. Recently, parents of children with eye related disabilities, such as amblyopia (lazy eye) and strabismus (cross-eye), and doctors have attempted to cooperate with public schools to allow families access to school-funded doctors to practice vision therapy. With a tight budget, most schools cannot afford to supply vision therapy, and a...
The chapter begins with the authors providing the problems of the past, for instance; death in pregnant women caused by puerperal fever. In this case, the women infected were to blame for contracting the disease. However, in later years, there was much research done and it was suggested that the problem actually lied within the doctor’s ward. The solution to this problem was as simple and cheap
Rothrock, J. C. (2007). Alexander's Care of the Patient in Surgery. St Louis, MO: Mosby Elsevier.
“Hospitals today are growing into mighty edifices in brick, stone, glass and marble. Many of them maintain large staffs, they use the best equipment that science can devise, they utilize the most modern methods in devoting themselves to the noblest purpose of man, that of helping’s one’s stricken brother. But they do all this on a business basis, submitting invoices for services rendered.”
The purposes of hospitals in the 18th century served a different purpose than the 21th century hospitals. The United States hospitals arose from “institutions, particularly almshouses, which provided care and custody for the sickly poor. Entrenched in this tradition of charity, the public hospital traces its ancestry to the development of cities and community efforts to shelter and care for the chronically ill, deprived, and disabled” ("America 's Essential Hospitals,2013").Hospitals in the earlier years in the United States are far more different than they are today.
Hospital A before the merger was a for-profit hospital, relatively new facility, in east side of town. It consisted of 110 hospital beds, 8 of which were reserved for transitional care. Services provided were: general surgery and same day surgery, full-service rehabilitation department and radiology department. Other services included kidney dialysis center, on-site retail pharmacy, blood bank, women’s center e...
The Hospital provides free services to the clergy and parents of hospitalized children. Hospital provides annual checkups free of charge to its alumni mostly occurred at the time of the annual reunion.
Some good hospitals could help reduce complications after surgery operation, but not as much as the surgeon, When the patient agrees to surgical work must decide to choose an excellent surgeon in a distinct hospital. The surgeon works the process through of an hour or two or more to treat the patient while the rest of doctors remain for many years to treat the patients. There is not difficult for him, there is not a distant place for him, prescribed treatment to the patient may be followed by a doctor, but in surgery, it is left to the talent of the surgeon. When the patient gives his approval on the process, at the same time give the surgeon open decision to do what he wants. In fact, the most painful for surgeon of losing the
Life revolves around being able to see things. Although individuals who are blind can lead a full and happy life, someone with excellent vision who suddenly loses theirs or notices a decrease in their visual acuity over time may find it difficult to adapt. Thankfully, with the help of an optometrist, individuals can actively work to preserve their vision for as long as possible. Phoenix Eye Care must be a priority for all, as advanced technology allows threats to the eyes to be detected as the earliest stage. The right treatment can help to slow or stop the progression before major issues develop. For this reason, every individual needs to undergo routine eye exams.
...ospitals. It is simple to setup such clinic and the community can join hands to ensure that there are no major challenges in accessing especially the basic health services by establish such clinic.
Historically (before 1880s), only few hospitals were originated in some big cities of U.S. Initially, the hospital system mainly run by religious organization and it served a primary purpose of palliation. According to Shi and Singh (2010), the function of hospitals at that time was more of “social welfare” (such as taking care of homeless people and helping those without families) than practicing medicine (p.56). Over the years, the functionality and the services offered by the hospitals has changed dramatically. However, it’s primary function to treat sick individuals has remained the same. Nowadays, hospitals also function as a research center, a medical educational institution, and is a major source of employment in the community (Sultz
As the religious orders began to be unable to maintain the hospitals due to changes in regulations and a decline in their membership hospitals in the twentieth century then began to be taken over by business interests. That in turn changed hospitals into businesses that were responsible to boardrooms and shareholders. At that time the practices of spirituality and compassion were replaced by the move toward financial gain. We now hav...
“The Aravind Eye Care System has dramatically improved the quality, volume and efficiency of eye care delivery in India and inspired health workers everywhere.” (Brilliant, L & Brilliant, G. (2007)) The workflow of doctors are set high, they perform over 200,000 surgeries per year. Keeping the waiting time between each operation very small and steady, resulting in many more patients becoming operated on. “The second core principle is excellence in execution of ensuring a high level of efficiency in providing the treatment, including outpatient services and surgeries.” (Tikoo, R. Financial Express). The gap between each operation was so precise and consistent; it solely helped improve the efficiency of the hospital. “By the time the first operation was finished, the second patient already had a microscope focused on their eye. Dr. Aravind then moved straight to table no.2 without any interlude.” (Manikutty, S & Vohra, N