Cheap Eyeglasses Blog

He is a social transformer. He is a legend. He heads the world’s largest eye care service. Meet Dr. Namperumalsamy, Chairman of Arvind Eye Care System, Madurai. At the end of 2008, Arvind Eye Care System consulted 2.7 million patients and performed 2.85 lakh operations in its five hospitals. In 1976, Dr. G. Venkatswamy founded Arvind Eye Care System after his retirement from government service. Dr. Nam (as he is affectionately called) was only 27 years old then. Today, he heads the organization and is a legend in providing exemplary service to human kind.

Arvind Eye Care was stared by mortgaging houses as a 11-bed hospital in Madurai, as no bank was ready to lend. Even today, Arvind Eye Care is a self-funded institution with no venture capital or private equity. Arvind Eye Care’s mission is to reach 1 million patients by 2012. Following a model of cross-subsidy to fund operations, Arvind Eye Care System is not only providing eye care for the masses but is also a financially vibrant and profitable organization. What is cross-subsidy? It is a model where the affordable pay more for the same care they received where the less endowed are charged less. If India is only known for its technology services prowess, it is equally well known for this health care innovation. Arvind’s endeavor provides “vision” to not only the rich and wealthy, but also the poor and deprived. This institution has made Madurai, the temple town, synonymous with excellence in eye care throughout the world.

Arvind’s outreach program reaches out to villages and screens patients who need care. They are transported by buses to one of the five hospitals for surgical intervention as simple intervention can prevent blindness, which is prevalent in 12 million people in India according to WHO estimates.

The legend of health care innovation Dr. Namperumalsamy was kind enough to talk to K. Venkatesh to provide his wisdom to young entrepreneurs during Villgro UNCOVENTION at Chennai. In the event, Dr. Namperumalsamy moderated a panel discussion on health care innovations and was part of a panel on scaling social enterprises. Here is his wisdom...