ASG Eye Hospital, one of India’s foremost eye-care super speciality hospital chains with over 165 hospitals across 83 cities nationwide, today announced the signing of an MOU with the State Health Society, Bihar (SHSB) for setting up of 200 state-of-the-art Vision Centers across 38 districts of Bihar under a first-of-its-kind public–private partnership (PPP) in primary eye care in India. This unique initiative will advance primary ophthalmic care within existing government health infrastructure to address the growing threat of blindness and vision impairment due to highly treatable disorders like cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and other conditions.
These Vision Centers managed by ASG Eye Hospital will be integrated with the Primary Health Centers (PHCs), Community Health Centers (CHCs), Sub-Divisional Hospitals (SDHs), as well as Referral Hospitals (RHs) and serve as the community’s first point of contact for eye health services. Each Vision center will be equipped with advanced diagnostic instruments including auto-refractometers, slit lamps, tonometers, retinoscopes, trial lens sets, near vision drums, pen torches, binomag, trial frames, near vision books and telemedicine-enabled systems to facilitate remote consultations with ASG’s network of senior ophthalmologists taking accessibility much farther than just physical centres.
The Vision Centers will be staffed with highly skilled Optometrists and Vision Technicians. Each center will follow standardized clinical protocols to drive efficiencies and quality assurance across the network. Patients who require specialized treatment will be referred to the nearest ASG Eye Hospital for further treatment.
The first 50 Vision Centres have already begun operations across Patna, Gaya, Hajipur, Katihar, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Bhagalpur and Nalanda. The rest will be operational over the next 45 days to reach their target of 200 by mid-August.
Dr Arun Singhvi, Managing Director and CEO, ASG Eye Hospital said, “This project fits perfectly into our ethos because what began as a mission to bring world class eye care to all patients, regardless their awareness, knowledge and financial status has started to come full circle. Not only does this project enable us to reach the vast, under-served, economically disadvantaged class in Bihar, but also creates a path for a replicable public health model that allows us to address the critical, unmet need of timely diagnostic intervention for these beneficiaries. These timely check ups for highly treatable cases of refractive errors, cataract, glaucoma can save sight and lives. All of this will reduce load on tertiary hospitals and will reduce treatment costs for patients since it will be covered under the government run insurance programs like Ayushman Bharat and the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF), with over 40 lakh+ patients benefitting from this project in just the next 12 months, through subsidized surgeries, medicines, and prescription spectacles. We believe the impact of this project will truly embody our vision of enhancing vision, touching lives.”
ASG Eye hospital’s collaboration with SHSB under a scalable PPP mode will enhance the role of the existing government facilities in providing eye care, while minimizing capital expenditure and ensuring robust utilization of existing infrastructure. The telemedicine service will streamline remote diagnostics and follow-ups. The model is designed for replication in other high–demand regions, offering significant scalability across the country.
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