Home Care to gain Momentum in the Post-COVID Era
By Dr. Harish Pillai
Home care has been in the spotlight ever since home quarantine became a COVID prescription. CEO of Aster India, Aster DM Healthcare offers his two cents on horning this healthcare model in the Indian context.
Homecare, as the name suggests, is the extension of the healthcare services in the home environs which the patients usually receive in the hospital. Chronic patients and the elderly who require long term care benefit from home care services. It reduces the chances of hospital-acquired infections and prevents patients with chronic conditions or a compromised immune system from the high risk of hospital-acquired infections. Additionally, patients enjoy the comfort of the home environment helping them psychologically heal better. Home healthcare has the potential to replace up to 65% of unnecessary hospital visits in India, and costs incurred on hospital visits can be reduced up to <20%.
Homecare services, we could say, is still in a nascent stage in India. However, drawing lessons from the pandemic, it will see increased adoption especially beyond the metro cities as industry players and patients realise its efficacy. The sector which was earlier addressed through unorganised players has already witnessed the entry of many players including hospitals and start-ups. This has also paved way for a slew of innovation and integration of technology into home care services bringing advanced, qualitative, 24X7 care for patients. Homecare drives the cause of affordable healthcare as it reduces the cost of hospitalisation for patients and ensures hospital beds remain free for critical patients. For Covid, many insurance service providers have included home quarantine in the coverage. Bringing primary and home care under the insurance cover will give a further boost to the sector.
Growing Acceptance
The pandemic diverted the already scarce healthcare resources in tackling the crisis, often leaving patients suffering from other diseases in the lurch. With hospital beds acquired in Covid care, the problem was acute for patients suffering from chronic diseases. While this may have served as a realisation for the need for home care and telemedicine, the need is especially accentuated in our country which will see a rise in its ageing population. In Indian culture, elderly parents are generally taken care of by the family and the concept of old age homes is not accepted. With rapid urbanisation, a growing number of nuclear families, and lack of time- home care for senior citizens is gaining acceptance. Geriatric Care will emerge as a sub-specialisation under home care.
The push to integrate technology
The pandemic brought out the need to leverage technology in different spheres of life. Technological integration in daily lives is now seen as an imperative and has reduced resistance amongst the users. Consequently, we will see the drive in the healthcare ecosystem in developing new innovative methods and devices to improve its effectiveness. Drawing the experiences from the pandemic, healthcare professionals like nurses will be more inclined to upskill and learn the desired soft skills to ensure proper home care services. The situation is more like a win-win for the patient and HCPs- a nurse in this case. For an instance, in a regular hospital setting where a nurse may have to attend 4-5 patients at a time, homecare means focusing on a single patient. For a family, not only it means personalised care, but the reduced cost in terms of hospital beds and greater safety of patients with no chances to hospital-acquired infections. Hospitals can follow the Omni-channel approach and establish Tele-command centres to seamlessly coordinate all aspects of hospitalisation and home care.
As healthcare providers plan to go beyond metro cities, the use of healthcare IT and electronics will enable expansion to remote locations. Led by continuous monitoring, clinical supervision, and e-reporting, the push for digitisation triggers prompt healthcare responses. Similarly, data from a patient's continuous evaluation is utilised for better treatment outcomes. Greater use of technology will bridge the gap witnessed in healthcare services and lead to better patient experiences. As awareness of home care and its benefits rises, there will be greater demand for organised, institutionalised care. On the other hand, the need of the hour is the skilling of Healthcare workers for Homecare. In India, the training of healthcare workers for home care is not organised. Healthcare Sector Skill Council and Indian Nursing Council can come up with a certification course in homecare for nurses that will cover soft skills training, ethical issues, etc. to give credibility to the staff.
Author
Dr Harish Pillai, CEO, Aster India, Aster DM Healthcare