Why Nursing Care at Home?
Homecare as a concept is gaining ground in India. The growth drivers are the changing clinical and societal milieu.
Ediagno Nursing Care at Home
Why Nursing Care at Home?
Homecare as a concept is gaining ground in India. The growth drivers are the changing clinical and societal milieu. Some estimates point out our current geriatric population (aged over 60 years) — at over 100 million. This is expected to grow to 325 million by 2050.
In India, Home Healthcare is at a very nascent stage as compared to western countries. 80% of non-urgent medical care that is currently given in hospitals can be delivered at home, some of which are:
Continuum of care: The need for better quality post-operative and primary care beyond hospitals in order to improve long-term outcomes post procedure. Non-communicable diseases which are chronic in nature, requiring long-term monitoring and regular interventions to keep them on track.
Family structure: With the growing number of nuclear families, with greater urban and even international migration, the elderly are left with no caregivers.
Quality of life: People are now looking not just at longevity, but also the quality of life. Apart from complex medical procedures, if these don’t significantly improve, quality of life would remain a small attitude among the elite. Rather than seek aggressive medical intervention, many are opting for symptom management at home.
Mindset: A changing consumer mindset is now trending towards comparing healthcare with other services, with access to healthcare at the place and time of their convenience.
Homecare or home-based healthcare is thus a solution that is increasingly better suited for the times we live in.
Currently, elderly care, physiotherapy, rehabilitation and diabetes management are four services that witness maximum demand in the homecare segment. Going forward, we foresee a growing demand for dialysis, chemotherapy, caring for children with special needs and palliative care.
At a macro level too, home healthcare frees up precious hospital beds and comes as a boon for the already burdened healthcare infrastructure in India.
The significant demand-supply gap in our healthcare system is addressed as homecare complements the overall healthcare delivery system by reducing the average length of stay in a hospital, ensuring proper utilization of existing bed capacity and significantly strengthening the care continuum.