Bhandari A, Ibrahim M, Sandhu JS; AcademyHealth. Meeting (2005 : Boston, Mass.).
Abstr AcademyHealth Meet. 2005; 22: abstract no. 4140.
UC Berkeley, Health Policy & Management, 2006 Cedar St., Berkeley, CA 94709 Tel. 510-849-1632 Fax
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The goal of our research was to understand how Aurolab, one of the only non-profit medical manufacturing entities in the world, has created a sustainable organization that has addressed the barriers to producing medical technologies in developing countries. In this case study, we: (1) examine the barriers in accessing specific medical technologies, (2) analyze the key factors that enabled Aurolab and Aravind Eye Care System to address those barriers, and (3) discuss how Aurolabs success might be replicated for medical technologies other than eye care consumables. STUDY DESIGN: This research employed a case study methodology utilizing both qualitative and quantitative research techniques. Such a mixed technique has been advocated by leading health services researchers and has been well documented. Primary data sources consisted of over 50 in-depth interviews and site visits, while secondary data collection involved analysis of epidemiological data, financial records, literature reviews, and regulatory issues. Onsite work was conducted during June 2004 in Tamil Nadu, India at Aurolab and the Aravind Eye Care System. Additionally, onsite work in the United States was conducted in early 2004 with Seva Foundation (Berkeley, California) and Project Impact (Berkeley). POPULATION STUDIED: N/A PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Aurolab is one of the only non-profit organizations in the world that produces medical devices or pharmaceuticals. They have managed to help bring down the cost of cataract surgery to roughly $20 in India compared with an average cost of $2000 in the US. This socially-driven organization produces ophthalmic technologies more cost effectively than any other comparable manufacturer, delivering their products to over 120 countries and owning 10% of the global market for intraocular lenses (IOLs, the synthetic lens implanted during cataract surgery). The factors of success span organizational, financial, and technical aspects of Aurolab. The organizational structure is characterized by strong leadership and a unified vision; partnerships with key NGOs have aided in technology transfer; and a close working relationship with the Aravind Eye Care System has provided a critical resource for product development. Also critical are disease prevalence, disease characteristics, and importance of technology to the cost of surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Aurolabs success in developing low cost medical technologies has played a significantly role in helping cure millions of people of blindness due to cataract in developing countries. However, the elements of their success are not necessarily transferable to other disease categories, technologies, and contexts. The issue of increasing access to medical technology is broader than cost, and includes factors such as research and development, health care infrastructure, medical cost burden, and intellectual property protections. IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY, DELIVERY OR PRACTICE: Access to medical technologies across the developing world is extremely limited and the development of such technologies is virtually non-existent and faces significant barriers. Aurolabs phenomenal success should serve as an example to institutional donor organizations, policymakers and researchers as a best practices model for building health care infrastructure and delivering medical technologies in developing countries.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Biomedical Research
- Blindness
- California
- Cataract
- Cataract Extraction
- Delivery of Health Care
- Developing Countries
- India
- Intellectual Property
- Models, Biological
- Organizations
- Prevalence
- Public Policy
- Technology Transfer
- Technology, Medical
- United States
- World Health Organization
- surgery
- hsrmtgs
UI: 103623603
From Meeting Abstracts