HYDERABAD: Continuing to make its mark in the world of healthcare research and innovation, L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) in Hyderabad has been ranked 8th among the hospitals in the world for the year 2023, for its research in Ophthalmology. The ranking was given by the Spanish agency SCImago, which categorizes academic and research institutions according to a composite indicator that evaluates three distinct sets of criteria based on their research performance, innovation outputs, and social impact. The institute was ranked 15th globally when taking into account a more giant umbrella of sectors including academic institutes, governments, companies, non-profit organisations, etc.
“The announcement came as a pleasant surprise to us. It was heartening because we were told that the ranking was based on our consistent performance and the impact that our research was making on society,” said Dr Prashant Garg, Executive Chair, LVPEI.
Established in 1987, the institute was founded by Dr Gullapalli N Rao. It has treated about 34.14 million people, while providing its services free of cost to half the number of patients. It also collaborates with the Centre for Prevention of Blindness, which comes under the World Health Organization. The institute, which functions on the five-tiered-pyramidal model, has published over 5000 research papers since its inception across its various primary, secondary and tertiary centres.
The institute has spread its arms across the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Karnataka, and encompasses more than 275 centres. Providing preventive, curative and rehabilitative eye care to all, the institute carries research, training and treatment hand-in-hand, preparing at least 15,000 ‘clinician-scientists’ every year.
“Research has been one of our prime focus since inception. Seeing this focus recognised globally is heartening,” said Dr Gullapalli N Rao, Founder Chair, LVPEI Collaborating with the centres and institutes in other countries, the institute has also helped the government of Liberia to establish eye care facilities in their country. It has also contributed to the formation of protocols that the Telangana government follows in its provision of healthcare to the people.
With its cutting-edge technology and skills in research, the institute has managed to make it to SCImago’s top-ten global rankings. The Spanish agency takes into account the large database called Scopus, (owned by data publishing company Elsevier), screening through thousands of academic journals publishing research papers worldwide. Tapping into this research database and then also looking at the social media visibility of the organisations doing research, the agency comes up with a ranking for all the institutes conducting research in a five-year period before the year it gives its ranking for.
The agency looked at around 950 organisations that have published around the world during the five years before 2021 to come to its present ranking for 2023, where LVPEI has stood 15th in the world. The institute is also a pioneer in stem cell transplant in the eye, with a technique that was first described, performed and developed in the institute and shared worldwide later.