A STUDY ON EYE CARE HOSPITALS

WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO VASAN EYE CARE HOSPITALS

Gokul B Jananai V Ragavi R Rajaram R Uthra G Vibin G

Healthcare industry in India: Healthcare is one of Indias largest sectors, in terms of revenue and employment, and the sector is expanding rapidly. During the 1990s, Indian healthcare grew at a compound annual rate of 16%. Today the total value of the sector is more than $34 billion. This translates to $34 per capita, or roughly 6% of GDP. By 2012, Indias healthcare sector is projected to grow to nearly $40 billion. The private sector accounts for more than 80% of total healthcare spending in India. Unless there is a decline in the combined federal and state government deficit, which currently stands at roughly 9%, the opportunity for significantly higher public health spending will be limited. The Healthcare Sector in India comprises of hospitals and allied sectors such as; diagnostics and pathology, medical equipments and supplies, medical tourism and private medical insurance. The key issues driving growth in the healthcare industry have been identified as follows: 1) Population Growth- this is the prime driver of growth in the healthcare sector. With the population currently at 1.1 billion and increasing at the rate of 2% p.a., it is estimated that by 2050 the population will reach 1.6 billion.1 This massive population is due in part to a decrease in infant mortality (in turn a result of better medical facilities and government emphasis on eradicating

diseases such as hepatitis and polio among infants), a general increase in life expectancy, greater affluence among people and better hygiene. This way a growing elderly population will soon place an enormous burden on Indias healthcare infrastructure. 2) Expanding Middle Class-Parallel to Indias thriving economy is rapid urbanization and creation of an expanding middle class with more disposable income to spend on healthcare. With women entering workforce, purchasing power and thus affordability has increased and people can buy western medicines. 3) Rise of Disease-Two kinds of diseases are largely prominent among people these days-one is communicable diseases and the other chronic degenerative diseases such diseases. as polio, While hepatitis, infectious/communicable

tuberculosis, pneumonia were thought to have been brought under control via the extensive government programmes however now they seem to have resurfaced or have developed a rather stubborn resistance to drugs. Another problem that seems to be on the rise these days is AIDS. Among the urban population there have been a significant number of health problems which may be called lifestyle diseases. Unhealthy diets, sedentary work and affluent lifestyle has given rise to hypertension, cancer,

diabetes, obesity etc. Lifestyle disorders are expected to grow in the future at a faster rate than infectious diseases in India and to result in an increase in cost per treatment. 4) Medical Tourism-With specialty and super specialty hospitals equipped with the latest equipment and the best surgical procedures at relatively inexpensive charges on the rise has made India a hub for people from the west to get treatment heregiving birth to a concept called Medical Tourism. With the healthcare costs increasing in many developed nations and the time for waiting for a procedure also increasing, especially in Britain, it is expected that the medical tourism in India will grow. EYE CARE HOSPITALS Introduction to the Eye care industry: An eye care hospital provides treatment for eye related problems, which is their core service. Apart from that eye care hospitals provide peripheral goods accompanying the service like eye drops and medications. Eye care hospitals can be classified as a service shop, where heavy capital investments are required and there is high customization. is mandatory. The service package of eye care includes the hospital infrastructure which is the supporting facility, facilitating goods The treatment being done on peoples bodies, the presence of the customer (here, the patient)

like medical supplies and spectacles, information in the form of medical records, explicit services of eye treatment like eye power rectification through spectacles and finally, the implicit services like better vision for the patient post treatment. Major palyers in the eye care sector in India are : o Aravind eye hospital o Shankar nethralaya o Vasan eye care hospitals o Dr Aggarwals eye care hospital

VASAN EYE CARE HOSPITALS Vasan Eye Care Hospital is the first corporate chain of eye hospitals in India and one of the largest eye care service providers in the world. The hospital features the most modern technologies for eye care, maintaining international standards of quality with a philosophy of personalised care at affordable cost. Some of the services provided by Vasan eye care include: Cataract Services: Cataract is the clouding of the natural crystalline lens and

typically occurs because of ageing, although other reasons may be prolonged use of steroids, exposure to ultra violet and associated health problems like diabetes and eye injuries. Surgery is the only known effective treatment for cataract removal. All cataract surgeries are aimed at removal of the cloudy natural lens and replacing it with an Intra Ocular Lens (IOL). At Vasan Eye Care Hospitals Phacoemulsification is performed (No stitch surgery) and a foldable IOL is inserted. There are multiple IOL choices available for the surgery which are explained below. These lenses can be inserted through a small 1.8 to 2.8 mm opening . Refractive Surgery Services Laser vision correction can correct myopia (short sight) upto -9.00D, Hyperopia (long sight) upto +4.00 and astigmatism upto 6.00D. Vasan Eye Care Hospitals are equipped with the advanced software system for laser vision correction in which the treatment can be personalized for each eye of the patient. A personalized zyoptix treatment (Customized LASIK) corrects the refractive errors to great accuracy and provides best quality of vision by additionally correcting the optical aberration of the eye. A tissue saving zyoptix, as the name suggests, corrects the required power using lesser amount of corneal tissue, thus can correct more refractive error in thin corneas. An Aspheric Zyoptix has the double advantage of correcting spherical aberration of the eye as well as maintaining natural corneal shape. Cornea Services

The Cornea departments across the Vasan Eye Care Hospital network offer cutting edge technologies at affordable cost to the patients. At Vasan Eye Care hospital, we work as a team to keep abreast of the latest in Ophthalmology and motivate each other to deliver high standards of patient care. Vasan Eye Care hospital network provides avenues for development of newer treatment modalities in collaboration with the industry and develop innovative surgical technologies to bring best possible eye care to the patients. Research forms an integral part of the Corneal Services at Vasan Eye Care hospital. Glaucoma Services Glaucoma is a disease of the eye which exhibits a typical optic neuropathy which results in progressive visual field loss. The most important risk factor is raised intraocular pressure. Risk factors for glaucoma include age above 40 years, diabetes, myopia, mature cataract, trauma, certain retinal diseases and a family history of glaucoma. At Vasan Eye Care hospitals the patient is investigated thoroughly with use of Perimetry, Ocular coherence tomography (OCT) and then the treatment is personalised to the patient to maintain his vision and quality of life. Technology used in the service operations Technology is one core aspect of Hospitals today. Everyday new complicated disease is found out and the treatments for such

problems need technical sophistication. Hospitals, irrespective of their specialization, needs to be updated in technology. Right from the admission of a patient, treatment using hi-tech equipments and storage of the history of patients, technology is governing Hospitals. Taking eye care hospitals, these hospitals use database to store patient information. Eye power checking equipments are used to check power and eye hospitals these days provide laser treatments and cataract removal treatments through advanced technology that consumes very less time compared to the operations done before. In Vasan Eye Care, technology is used right from patients entry to exit in the following ways

Patients Data base Collection ( New Patient UIN*) Preliminary Eye check up to Doctors Check up Hi tech technology in Operation theaters ( Use and throw Equipments) reduced setup time and healthy atmosphere *UIN Unique Identification Number for each and every patients

Recovery of patients old datas ( Course Sheet)

The servicescape: Servicescape of a hospital is one important aspect, as it determines the quality of the service provided. Hospital

Environmental Services is about more than just cleanliness. The hospitals appearance is the first opportunity to make an impression on patients and visitors. Creating a clean and safe facility builds confidence in the services and translates into improved patient satisfaction. The environmental aspects that are to be considered in an hospital the ambience like temperature, odor, noise etc. the temperature has to be made optimal so that its not so stuffy nor too cold. One important factor of the environment of a hospital is odor. The smell in the hospitals should be kept in an optimum level and on the same hand; the hospital should be kept bacteria and infection free. The next aspect is the space or function. It includes the layout, equipments and furnishings. The space in an hospital should not be so congested. The furniture arrangements like the beds, chairs in waiting area should be organized well and has to be made comfortable and that are easily cleanable. The hospital should not be made look congested. The furniture arrangements for waiting patients should be comfortable. The interiors of the hospitals are subtle, with walls painted in mild colors. Capacity management The demand in an eye care hospital, unlike any other service providing industry, is not very seasonal. There exists a constant

number of patients, except for the period like madras eye problem. Vasan eye care hospitals do not require any appointment for general eye checkup. Patients are treated in first-come first-serve basis. They manage the flow of patients by providing a good palce for waiting and updating the patients position as and then. In Vasan Eye care hospitals, doctors work on a shift basis. The shifts are morning, afternoon and evening. More number of patients come during morning or evening than in the afternoon. during the times of madras eye or similar problem, when the demand for service increases, the demand is managed by reducing the treatment time by reducing few check ups. Service quality maintenance Service quality can be defined as the collective effect of service performances which determine the degree of satisfaction of a user of the service. In other words, quality is the customers perception of a delivered service. By service-quality management, we refer to the monitoring and maintenance of end-to-end services for specific customers or classes of customers As larger varieties of services are offered to customers, the impact of network performance on the quality of service will be more complex. It is vital that service engineers identify networkperformance issues that impact customer service. They also must quantify revenue lost due to service degradation.

Service quality management in eye care industry: These were the steps taken by them manage the service quality and hence to increase the customer satisfaction: 1) Separate divisions for each specialty 2) World-class service systems and trained service personnel 3) State-of-the-art operation theatres 4) Post-Op lounge with recliners/beds 5) More than ten diagnostic stations per facility 6) Advanced eye care equipments 7) Complete range of optical frames & lenses 8) Exclusive childrens eye care 9) 24/7 pharmacy 10) Ambulance services

In Vasan eye care service quality is maintained by followed by establishing a special service motto as V Care where each patient is given individual and ensuring the right service is provided at the right time.

Customer relationship management: Customer relationship management is very essential for any service organization. A good customer relationship helps an hospital in spreading positive word of mouth about the hospital. The hospitals generally have the patient history and database so that they can retrieve the information when the patient visits the hospital again. In Vasan eye care the patients who are discharged after any surgery are provided with a pink card, which they can produce at the hospital and have their eye check up done free for the next one month. They are requested to come for a checkup once in ten days for about a month post surgery. Patients from far away places can contact the hospital or any doctor through phone in case of any inconvenience. Vasans USP Vasan eye care claim their unique selling proposition as the care they render to the patients walking in. each patient is allotted with an attender and the attender monitors the patient from his enrty point till he exits the hospital. Individual care is given to every patient.

Conclusion Thus the study made on Vasan Eye care enabled us to learn how the services are provided in health care sector. It also helped us to understand the process model of health care sector with special reference to eye care hospital.