Doorstep eyecare services for elderly in Hyderabad and Sircilla

A trained vision technician, who will visit the patient’s home and perform a comprehensive eye examination

The elderly population in Telangana’s Hyderabad and Sircilla will now have access to doorstep eye care services as LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) and Standard Chartered Bank have launched ‘LVPEI@Home’ initiative which allows residents to schedule a home visit from a trained technician by just placing a call to the institute.

Though available to all, the programme focuses on older adults who often face challenges in accessing conventional healthcare. LVPEI piloted the service during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure continued care for patients with serious eye conditions, according to Dr. Suryasnata Rath, LVPEI’s Network Director of Operations.

The visiting technician will perform a full eye examination using portable equipment, including a refraction check, and anterior segment examination. They will also assess intraocular pressure and conduct a fundus evaluation to examine the inner eye. Based on the results, the patient will have a tele-consultation with an LVPEI doctor, and a detailed e-medical report will be sent to their phone, along with a plan for follow-up visits. For patients who require glasses, LVPEI offers an option to have them delivered to their homes. Underprivileged elderly individuals may also qualify for free spectacles and cataract surgeries, added Dr. Rath.

In urban areas, the fee for a home visit is ₹1,000, while in rural areas, it is ₹400. The initiative has commenced at all the five tertiary centres of LVPEI across the country and two more secondary centres in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, apart from Telangana’s Sircilla.

Standard Chartered Bank has partnered with LVPEI as part of its Seeing is Believing programme. Highlighting the importance of such initiatives, Dr. Prashant Garg, Executive Chairman of LVPEI, stated that India’s elderly population is rapidly increasing. According to the United Nations Population Fund’s India Ageing Report 2023there are currently 149 million people aged 60 and above, with this number expected to nearly double by 2050. “With this demographic shift, innovative healthcare models like LVPEI@Home are essential to meet rising demand while easing the burden on traditional healthcare systems,” he said.