● practice● Scaled
Aravind Eye Care System
Scale
local
subnational
national
systemic
Description
System of eye hospitals founded in 1976 by Dr. G. Venkataswamy in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, to eliminate avoidable blindness. It combines high-volume, assembly-line cataract surgery (with paramedical staff performing lower-complexity steps), cross-subsidy (paying patients subsidize free/subsidized care, ~60% of volume), rural eye camps and in-house manufacturing of low-cost intraocular lenses (Aurolab, founded 1992). Clinical quality is equivalent between paying and free patients. In 2026 it celebrates its 50th anniversary (Golden Jubilee).