Vision is more than just sight, it is clarity, independence, and the ability to fully experience life. Behind every advancement in eye care are individuals who not only master the science of ophthalmology but also dare to reimagine how it can be practiced.
Dr. Bao Khanh Tran is one such visionary. With a career that bridges academic leadership, clinical excellence, and digital innovation, he has transformed the way ophthalmic care is delivered. After serving as clinical fellow and later co-directing the outpatient clinic and emergency room at the Jules Gonin University Eye Hospital in Lausanne, he went on to establish Y··Vision in Yverdon; a center built on precision, innovation, and patient-focused care.
But Dr. Tran’s impact doesn’t stop there. As co-founder of Liris Tech SA, he is shaping the future of practice management software tailored for ophthalmology, while continuing to share his expertise by training young doctors in both medical and surgical settings. For Dr. Tran, ophthalmology is more than a profession, it is a passion and a lifelong commitment to improving lives through vision.
From Hospital Halls to Healthcare Reinvention
The defining shift in Dr. Tran’s career came during his tenure as a senior ophthalmologist at the Jules-Gonin University Eye Hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland. Immersed in one of Europe’s most advanced medical environments, he thrived clinically but he also sensed a deeper issue. Large hospital systems, while indispensable and equipped with cutting-edge technology, often left both patients and medical professionals underserved.
He recalls moments of frustration where systemic inefficiencies, unfulfilled promises and depersonalized structures overshadowed the essence of care. Alongside his close colleague and friend, Dr. François Thommen, Dr. Tran shared responsibility for the hospital’s polyclinic and emergency department. This dual role sharpened their view of both clinical and operational shortcomings in modern healthcare.
Together with Ph.D. Zalan Forro, a childhood friend and co-founder of their earlier venture, Liris Tech, the vision for Y••Vision began to take shape. The goal was not to abandon clinical work but to extend it by building a healthcare environment where patients are truly seen and medical teams feel empowered and supported.
The Founding Philosophy
The core idea behind Y••Vision was radical in its simplicity: to place people, not just diagnoses, at the center of care. Ophthalmology is a highly technical field, yet Dr. Tran and his co-founders saw how patients often became secondary to efficiency metrics, specialization, and sheer volume.
Their mission was to reverse that imbalance. Y••Vision was built as a place where patients feel respected, informed, and actively involved in their treatment, while doctors and staff thrive in a culture grounded in trust and collaboration. From the outset, the clinic paired this ethos with state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic technology, ensuring that excellence in care was inseparable from access and dignity.
Over time, Y••Vision has evolved beyond being just a clinic. Its independence allows the founders to stay true to their ethical principles, free from commercial compromise. Slowly and deliberately, the center has expanded services while safeguarding its values. This patient-first philosophy has earned recognition across the healthcare community, transforming Y••Vision into a trusted reference point for ophthalmology and a model for inclusive, values-driven care.
“Y••Vision is more than an eye clinic, it’s an experience.”
Wearing Two Hats: Doctor and Entrepreneur
Managing the dual identity of physician and startup leader is no small task, yet for Dr. Tran, it has become a source of strength. He continues to see patients regularly and teaches, keeping him firmly anchored in the realities of clinical practice. Every patient encounter, he says, reinforces why Y••Vision was created: to deliver care that is both technically rigorous and profoundly human.
This clinical presence informs his leadership decisions, ensuring they remain grounded in patient needs rather than abstract metrics. Conversely, his role as co-founder and leader allows him to shape a healthcare system aligned with those very principles, offering professionals a supportive and meaningful workplace.
Far from competing, his two roles feed into each other. Practicing medicine keeps him in touch with patient realities; leading Y••Vision enables him to reshape the structures of care delivery.
Building a Team Around Shared Values
One of the greatest hurdles Dr. Tran and his co-founder, Dr. François Thommen, faced in building Y••Vision wasn’t financial or technical; it was human, human that he wants to place at center. From the start, they were determined to create a medical environment rooted in empathy, ethics, and respect. Translating that philosophy into the DNA of a team, however, proved to be far more complex than anticipated.
Dr. Tran admits that the human element can be messy. Each team member arrives with not only skills but also personal expectations, ways of working, and emotional needs. Navigating those differences demands listening, empathy, and the ability to reconcile individual requests with the clinic’s collective mission. “Sometimes close friends create difficult situations, and sometimes the most unexpected colleagues become your strongest allies,” he reflects.
Team members bring different values and expectations, sometimes creating friction. For Dr. Tran, the key is honesty and progress over perfection: “We don’t always get it right. But we learn, adapt, and move forward—together.”
Despite the challenges, Y••Vision’s patient feedback confirms that the effort has paid off. Patients consistently highlight not just the quality of medical care, but also the kindness, attentiveness, and authenticity they experience. For Dr. Tran, this is proof that building a team around shared values, however imperfect the process, makes all the difference.
True Meaning of Success in Healthcare
For Dr. Tran, success in healthcare is not measured by financial milestones or flashy innovations. It is measured in trust, continuity, and impact. “Innovation only matters if it improves the daily experience and long-term outcomes for the people we serve,” he says.
He also highlights the importance of support when medicine cannot provide a cure. “Sometimes we can’t restore someone’s vision, but we can walk beside them through that journey. That presence—being there in moments of fear or loss—is just as vital as any treatment.”
The recognition of Y••Vision’s approach extends beyond its patient community. Physicians refer their own families to the clinic, schools send students to learn from its model, and hospitals seek collaboration. Each of these, says Dr. Tran, reinforces that the center is on the right path and building trust, loyalty, and purpose that reach far beyond its walls.
Growing with Ethics at the Core
At Y••Vision, growth is never pursued for its own sake. From the start, Dr. Tran and his co-founders adopted a guiding principle: if a decision doesn’t serve the patient, it doesn’t move forward. Expansion is about trust and depth, not speed or scale.
Importantly, the leadership team stays deeply involved in day-to-day operations. Dr. Tran and his colleagues see patients, observe care flow, and remain in direct dialogue with their staff. This hands-on presence ensures they remain connected to the lived realities of both patients and professionals, avoiding the abstraction that can come with management from a distance.
Leadership stays close to the ground. Dr. Tran and his colleagues see patients, observe care flow, and remain in direct dialogue with staff, ensuring they stay connected to lived realities rather than drifting into abstraction.
Lessons from the Early Years
The most profound influence on Dr. Tran’s leadership style came from his first chief during his years as a young physician in the general emergency department. This mentor was more than a manager; he was a presence. First to arrive, last to leave, he never hesitated to step into the fray when the pressure mounted.
What left the deepest mark was his steady calm during moments of chaos, especially when junior doctors faltered. Instead of retreating, he showed up reliable, humble, and generous with his time. His authority wasn’t about command; it was about consistency and humanity.
The lesson stayed with Dr. Tran: true leadership is not about status, but about example. It means being visible, accessible, and supportive. At Y••Vision, he strives to lead in that same spirit—by staying present on the ground, correcting course when needed, and shouldering responsibility alongside his team.
He is candid about imperfection. “I make mistakes like anyone else,” he admits. But to him, leadership also means acknowledging those mistakes, learning from them, and moving forward with humility. That willingness to “show up, day after day” has become a cornerstone of how Y••Vision’s culture is built.
Redefining Healthcare Entrepreneurship
In Dr. Tran’s view, one of the most persistent misconceptions about healthcare entrepreneurship is that it’s primarily about profit or disruption for its own sake. The reality, he stresses, is far more personal.
Y••Vision wasn’t born from a business plan, but from frustration with a system where patients often felt rushed or unheard, and where professionals struggled with stress and unfulfilled expectations. “We didn’t start this project to sell a product or scale aggressively,” he explains. “We started because we wanted to do differently for patients.”
For him, entrepreneurship is not a departure from medicine but its extension — an opportunity to reclaim agency, test new approaches, and build structures that serve both patients and caregivers more effectively. The financial and operational responsibilities are real, but they remain secondary. The central mission is unchanged: improving lives, one patient at a time.
In this light, entrepreneurship becomes not merely a strategy for growth, but a medical responsibility.
Guarding Balance
For all his dedication to patients and innovation, Dr. Tran is equally clear about the importance of protecting personal well-being. “Balance is essential—but it’s something you have to actively work at,” he notes. He divides his time intentionally between clinical care, leadership, teaching, and personal life. Each role sustains him differently: patient care keeps him grounded, leadership provides purpose, teaching renews his joy for knowledge-sharing, and family life restores his energy.
A key element of his approach is trust in his team. Delegation is not a sign of weakness, but a way to empower others while ensuring he can recharge. Activities beyond medicine, whether family time, friendships, or sports, are not indulgences, but essential safeguards against burnout.
He compares this philosophy to preventive medicine: just as doctors emphasize prevention for patients, leaders must also prevent their own exhaustion. He acknowledges that launching Y••Vision was an intense sprint that quickly became a marathon. The early years were demanding and unbalanced, but with time he learned that overextending oneself ultimately compromises care.
Quoting his first chief, he sums it up simply:
“A good Samaritan is the one staying alive.”
Technology and Humanity Under One Roof
When asked about his proudest milestone at Y••Vision, Dr. Tran doesn’t point to financial figures or rapid expansion. Instead, he highlights something rarer in today’s healthcare landscape: building an independent, human-scale eye care center that successfully merges state-of-the-art technology with a deeply personal, patient-first approach. “Most clinics today belong to large groups,” he explains. “We wanted to prove you don’t have to choose between cutting-edge medicine and authentic human connection—you can have both.”
This philosophy has made Y••Vision a trusted reference center for several hospitals and institutions. The recognition was not immediate but built slowly, patient by patient, conversation by conversation. Today, the center serves as the official ophthalmology partner for major public hospitals in the aera, while also being invited to share its methods through lectures and collaborations.
Anchors for the Future of Care
Dr. Tran believes physician-led startups are vital to the future of healthcare. Their strength lies in lived experience: “We’re not guessing at what people need—we see it firsthand. We don’t base our decisions on numbers but on real situation” Rooted in patient realities, these ventures balance technology with empathy and ethical safeguards. Agile and adaptable, they reimagine workflows, systems, and patient journeys—without losing sight of the human connection at the heart of medicine.
To the next generation, Dr. Tran urges boldness: “Don’t be afraid to look beyond the usual path.” He reminds young doctors that resilience, critical thinking, and empathy equip them for leadership, advocacy, and innovation. Dreams, he says, fuel growth: “They push us out of our comfort zone—and that’s where real progress happens.”
He also champions collaboration across disciplines like engineers, designers, entrepreneurs, and above all, patients. And he stresses embracing imperfection: “You won’t have all the answers. Seek mentors, share your vision, and fail forward. Every misstep can strengthen your journey.”
A Legacy of Human-Centered Innovation
Looking ahead, Dr. Tran hopes his work will leave behind more than just a clinic; he hopes to leave a model. One that proves healthcare can be both modern and human, efficient yet compassionate, technologically advanced yet deeply respectful. “If there’s one message, I’d like my career to embody,” he says, “it’s that values are not slogans. They’re daily choices, visible in every patient interaction and every team decision.”
He dreams that Y••Vision will continue to inspire future generations to believe in their power to reshape healthcare, whether by reforming existing systems or creating entirely new ones. For him, even being challenged by the next wave of innovators would be a mark of success—proof that the mission to improve care is alive and evolving.
“Medicine,” Dr. Tran asserts, “can be both high-performing and profoundly personal. That’s the legacy I want to leave.”
