As the COVID-19 caseload goes up, home care is becoming the next front in the fight against the coronavirus as private hospitals look to ease the burden on overwhelmed healthcare systems.
Private chains Max Healthcare, Fortis Healthcare and Medanta have started treating coronavirus patients with mild symptoms in their homes.
A “15-day remote monitoring package” from Max starts at Rs 333 per day. Max@home, the service launched on Monday, includes an essential medical kit (thermometer and oximeter), daily monitoring of a patient’s vital signs with a trained nurse on call twice a day, tele-reviews with a doctor every third day, case assessments and home delivery of medicines.
Home care services are expected to reduce overcrowding at hospitals. “About 70-80% of coronavirus-positive patients show no symptoms or have very mild symptoms.
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The recovery period for such patients is 14-17 days if proper home isolation guidelines are followed,” said Sandeep Budhiraja, group medical director at Max.
“If someone is COVID-positive and shows mild symptoms, there is no need to rush to a hospital. One can self-isolate in the comfort of their home with our home care packages designed for patients who don’t need hospital admission.”
The home care service includes an advanced monitoring package, under which Max provides three visits by a nurse — on boarding and on the 7th and 14th days.
This includes a Covid-19 test between day 12 and 14. An extended on-site package by Max includes a dedicated nurse at home along with other features. Packages by Fortis Healthcare start at Rs 6,000 for 17 days.
This includes four consultations by doctors including a psychologist and a dietician. “The patients are monitored every day. There is a mobile app where they have to record their temperature, pulse which is monitored on an everyday basis.
If they want a caregiver at home, that’s chargeable. An ambulance service is always available to pick them up in case of an emergency,” said Ritu Garg, zonal director at Fortis Memorial Research Institute in Gurgaon.
Healthcare startup Portea, which has started home health care for COVID patients in Delhi, is planning to start a similar service in Mumbai. Another city-based startup 1RupeeClinic is also offering treatment to COVID patients for Rs 24,000 for a 14-day service, which includes temperature checks and oxygen administration.
Medanta’s home care packages start at Rs 4,900, which includes vital signs monitoring tools with built-in critical alert mechanisms, daily remote monitoring by a nurse, four consultations by doctors and one consultation by a dietician.
Its advanced package costs Rs 9,900 and the advance plus package is Rs 11,900. The complete package at Rs 21,900 provides the patient with COVID testing, masks, gloves, sanitisers, a pulse oximeter, digital thermometer, BP machine, four personal protection equipment kits, a vital signs monitoring tool with built-in critical alert mechanism, daily remote monitoring by trained nurses, four doctor consultations and one dietician consultation.
According to Sushila Kataria, director and head of medicine at Medanta, 90 patients have so far enrolled for its home care programme.