ABOUT
Driven by the mission to provide the best eye care to all, Centre for Sight has carefully handpicked a team of more than 150+ doctors from premier institutions across the country. We have pan-India reachability with 45 eye care centres across the country. Our recently opened, state-of-the-art facility: Centre for Sight Eye Institute at Dwarka, Delhi is one of the largest private comprehensive super speciality eye Institute in north India. Centre for Sight is registered in many states under the Nursing Home Act by the Directorate General of Health Services.
We spoke to Dr. Prashant, Director of Operations at Centre for Sight, one of the leading eye centres in India to understand their principles and initiatives towards the society.
INTERVIEW:
What is the objective and purpose of the Operations Team at Centre for Sight?
Our singular purpose is to deliver a delightful patient experience to one and every patient, making them aware of the benefits of our cutting-edge technology and clinical prowess we possess, to whoever walking into our Centres, expecting nothing but the very best.
What are the key elements that have brought you this far? Key achievements with relevance to bagging this position:
I have always followed the mantra of leading from the front, high on integrity and empathy, mentoring future leaders with a keen eye to strengthen patient experience to make it as the USP by adding value to the existing processes through Business Process Re-engineering (BPR). I have habitually focused on Capacity-building amongst the team members through personal intervention in form of Training, Management Development Programs, Workshops and follow an analytical approach to ensure business growth.In my past assignments, I had successfully chartered the course of many Multi-Centric Organisations towards service excellence and optimized profitability with my efforts aided by wonderful teams at my disposal.
These traits and attributes enabled me to bag this assignment.
How many centres come under your supervision? What are the predominant measures you take to keep everything in control?
I supervise 45 centres across 11 States and 25 Cities. We have a strong Core Team consisting of Regional Heads who are in direct connect daily and we perform monthly Reviews to assess the performance, identify the bottlenecks, and brainstorm strategies for resolution and growth. There are structured Reports which come to us regularly and we have benchmarked indicators that are monitored, analysed, and corrective actions are planned and implemented when needed.
What are the top 3 skills you look for while recruiting doctors?
A strong clinical training background, comprehensive experience (surgical and clinical) with excellent outcomes alongwith empathetic approach towards patients and alignment to our organizational values.
What are your initiatives towards creating a seamless work environment/ patient experience?
We have worked diligently to develop a working model which includes patient and staff centered processes, by first truly understanding patient needs and expectations, keeping in check and control patient journeys at all touchpoints, and red flagging deviations with prompt service recovery which enables a patient experience, which is always delightful and memorable and also have systems to escalate patient concerns and resolve within quick timelines. Sensitization of Staff towards such a patient-centred culture is a constant endeavour by us and we use technology to ensure seamless service delivery systems.
What is that one single differentiator that distinguishes CFS from its other counterparts?
CFS stands for unflinching adherence to ethics and has been also a pioneer in introducing cutting-edge technology with experienced clinicians delivering world-class clinical outcomes with compassionate care.
What are the pros and cons of COVID according to you in regards to the Eyecare sector?
In terms of pros of COVID19 Pandemic in the Eyecare sector, we can say new patient service delivery models have gained traction, now more than ever (Telemedicine and Home-Care), also such adversity always strengthens both the intent and resolvements towards developing innovations using state of the art platforms like AI and ML. In terms of the cons, there weredelayed treatments due to restrictions, impacted clinical outcomes, and training for budding Ophthalmologists was severely restricted due to frequent lockdowns which shall hinder their professional progress in the times to come.
How has the role of leaders evolved during the pandemic?
Leaders have had to show agility in pivoting businesses to adapt to the challenges thrown by the Pandemic. They also have had to roll out WFH culture yet ensuring the highest productivity. These times have tested their empathetic approach to the core and also their ability to stay afloat through cost containment measures. This is the time for leaders to promote a culture of innovation.
How has Covid-19 affected the operations of CFS?
The safety of patients, doctors, and staff has always been our first priority. The processes, timings, staffing patterns, and service delivery models all have been restructured during the pandemic to keep up with the patients’ needs and expectations and also to ensure smooth operations like keeping patients and staff safe through measures on the lines of sanitization and social distancing.
How do you manage the procurements of eyewear, lenses, medicines, etc throughout all centres?
–Answer: We have Opticals and Pharmacy across all our Centres and have a Central Supply Chain Department which handles all procurements of eyewear, lenses, and medicines.Many of these processes are automated to save time and resources. We also cater to the demands of our patients through logistical avenues like Home Delivery for both Optical and Pharmacy.
What are the technologies adapted by CFS?
CFS has always been ahead of the pack when it comes to adopting new technologies whether it’s in the clinical domain or aiding Patient Care delivery. The Senior Leadership has always worked on ideation towards testing, piloting, and implementing to scale these technology platforms which have aided us in delivering better than the best clinical outcomes and patient experiences. We have been at the forefront in introducing these tech advances at a global level, participating in their R&D too, and take pride in always leading from the front.
Making our patients adopt new technologies like SMILE or Femto Cataract takes a lot of coordinated efforts making them realize the enhanced benefits which are challenged by the higher costs incurred by the patients. Change is always difficult but with leadership support, such inevitable changes are always smoothly transitioned to further the organizational cause.
How do you like to spend your free time and what are your other interests?
My free time gets spent indulging in writing blogs and poetry, reading books, listening to music, travelling and teaching Hospital Management aspirants in B-Schools.