Deepshikha Sharma is a healthcare leader who is touted to be the only female CEO in ophthalmology in India. Armed with more than 23 years of experience, she has blended business excellence with empathy-driven leadership.
In a conversation with Women Entrepreneurs Review Magazine, Deepshikha talks about various facets of leadership in the Indian healthcare sector and shares her experience of running Sharp Sight Eye Hospitals.
From talking about leveraging technology to expand access of eye care in underserved regions, to highlighting the need for balancing empathy and effectiveness, she touches upon key themes. Additionally, Deepshikha encourages aspiring women leaders to lead with purpose and confidence.
To know more about how women leaders are redefining eye care sector and healthcare in India, read the following interview.
As a woman leading Sharp Sight’s growth, how have you seen female leadership styles uniquely influence patient care, team culture, and innovation in the Indian healthcare landscape?
Women leaders bring a unique blend of empathy and resilience to medical practice. Even in decision-making, women often provide a dynamic yet stable perspective, which strengthens the overall practice. In India, healthcare is not only about creating access but also about redefining the patient experience, and women play a key role in that by bringing in compassion and stability.
At Sharp Sight, many of our key leaders, whether doctors, counselors, or managers, are women, and they are transforming how eye care is delivered across metros as well as tier-2 and tier-3 towns. Women leaders are naturally driving this shift, shaping both patient care and organizational culture.
What role do women leaders play in making healthcare more accessible in India, and how has your work at Sharp Sight demonstrated this impact across diverse communities?
A lot of women are now foraying into healthcare, not only as doctors but also in leadership roles, and they are bringing a paradigm shift. Traditionally, healthcare leadership was male-dominated, but today women are redefining it by combining clinical expertise, empathy, and strategic vision. Many women CEOs are on hospital boards, driving innovation with inclusivity, shaping policy, expanding access in underserved areas, and making healthcare more patient-centric and humane. Their leadership style often prioritizes trust and long-term community well-being.
At Sharp Sight, my role has been to scale a purpose-led medical brand without losing its soul. Over the past two decades, we’ve expanded across Delhi NCR and into states like Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir. Thirteen years ago, we entered J&K during a period of socio-political instability, because I strongly believed eye care must reach people who lacked access.
The positive impact is visible not only in the patients who regain their vision but also in the jobs we create, the empowerment of women we emphasize, the awareness we spread, and the trust we’ve built in communities.
My role has essentially been that of a bridge; bringing technology and innovation from metros to smaller towns.
My journey at Sharp Sight shows that women lead with purpose, and that healthcare is not just about curing patients, it is about transforming lives.
How have you balanced empathy-driven decision-making with operational efficiency as a healthcare leader? to transform healthcare delivery while ensuring consistent quality of care?
Innovation is at the heart of any modern medical system. At Sharp Sight, we’ve embraced advanced technologies, from cutting-edge LASIK and robotic catheter surgery to AI-enabled diagnostics. But for me, innovation is not just about machines, it’s about accessibility.
For example, setting up high-end care centers in smaller cities like Dhanbad or Asansol ensures people don’t have to travel to metros for world-class treatment. HealthTech also helps us digitize the patient journey, improve follow-ups, and provide continuity of care, all of which improve outcomes at scale.
On the operational side, efficiency comes from building standardized clinical protocols, uniform OT practices, streamlined patient journeys, technology integration, and optimal resource use across all our centers. This model allows us to scale rapidly into tier-2 and tier-3 towns while maintaining consistent quality.
Over the years, I’ve been spearheading these efforts, ensuring that empathy in care and operational excellence go hand in hand. Operational efficiency has not only improved our bottom line but also strengthened patient trust, boosted staff morale, and positively impacted the community.
How can women in healthcare leadership leverage technology to bridge gaps in eye care and other critical medical services in underserved Indian regions?
Women in leadership positions, whether doctors or administrators, are increasingly driving the integration of technology with operational efficiency. What matters is that they are given the roles and responsibilities at the leadership level, because only then can they truly influence and implement these changes.
Traditionally, we mostly saw women in fields like gynecology, but today they are making their mark across specialities, including ophthalmology.
Beyond medical practice, women leaders are stepping into strategic roles, and from these positions they are driving innovation, expanding access, and ensuring technology is used to close gaps in underserved regions.
How can women leaders foster cross-functional collaboration between medical teams, administration, and outreach programs to create more patient-centric healthcare systems in India?
I don’t think collaboration is only about gender, but women leaders do bring natural strengths in empathy, collaboration, and community engagement, qualities that healthcare urgently needs today. Men have been leading successfully for many years, but women add compassion and stability that enrich the system.
In hospitals, women leaders can empower staff by fostering inclusive and supportive workplace cultures, especially for female nurses, counselors, and technicians, who are the backbone of patient care. They also bring a grassroots mindset, pushing for free eye camps, awareness drives, school screenings, and women’s health initiatives. This ensures that hospitals remain closely connected with the community.
At Sharp Sight, I emphasize what I call the four Ps: being patient-centric, people-centric, process-centric, and profit-centric. I encourage every team member to see themselves as more than just employees; they are eye care ambassadors responsible for our patients’ vision.
When hospitals adopt this mindset, they stop being just institutions and become true community anchors.
If we can scale this model across India, healthcare will move beyond treating diseases to transforming lives. Women leaders, with their empathy and sense of purpose, can ensure that balance—combining efficiency with compassion so that no one is left behind.
LAST WORD: Advice For Aspiring Women Leaders in Indian Healthcare
My first advice is, find your purpose. Don’t wait for validation; let your work become your voice. At the CEO level, especially in ophthalmology, leadership is still male-dominated. In fact, I am the only female CEO in this specialty in India. I faced skepticism about whether I could manage hospitals, drive P&L, or lead strategic growth. But over time, I realized that credibility comes from clarity and consistency. When you keep performing, results speak louder than stereotypes.
I leaned on my strengths such as emotional intelligence and collaborative leadership and outcomes followed. My advice to young women is not to limit themselves to becoming doctors. Healthcare is vast and rapidly expanding. Women can pursue careers as managers, administrators, or innovators, because hospitals today require diverse leadership beyond just the clinical side. There are endless opportunities to combine social impact with sustainable business growth. Step into those roles with confidence and your work will pave the way.
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