The latest service to reach your doorstep: HEALTHCARE

Indian consumers are opening up to a new service – Home based healthcare.

They offer the best of the service at the comfort of your home. Now children working abroad need not feel guilty of putting their parents to old age home, but feel happy that parents can get the needed support and medical care at their own home. Also in this busy world when everyone is on a rush and has no time to even perform a health check-up, it’s really a boon that service providers come home to collect blood, urine sample and post results through mail. They even offer doctor visit at home.

India’s geriatric population  is expected to grow by 41% to about 194 million by 2031. This along with rising working population, increase in the occurrence of chronic diseases, significant increase in healthcare awareness & the increasing need for convenience has contributed to the emergence of in-home healthcare providers in India.

Our fast paced life, living as nuclear family, long working hours, working in foreign land etc are opening a new set of challenges, something our families never faced a decade back. When a new born came into the family, there were elders all around; when a family member fell ill, every family member took turns to provide care and support; when one had a child with special needs family supported parents to bring up the child and most important of all in old age always children took care of parents. World changed, life changed, everyone is now part of rat-race, having no time for family or friends.

Home based healthcare providers found an opportunity in this space. They panned out care services which normally were carried out by family members. Services of doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, dentists, and bedside caregivers are now offered from the comfort of the home. They also found that there exist a gap between being in hospital and being on oneself. Many a times it takes months or years to get back to ones own routines. Long-term stay in the hospital can lead to depression. The stress of being out of one’s comfort zone can sometimes lead to rapid decline in patient’s condition. In addition to this, the families of the patients tend to feel helpless since they are completely dependent on external care. Also being Indian’s we are attached to our homes and hate the feeling of being in a hospital care or care homes.

“Home health care is a wide range of health care services that can be given in your home for an illness or injury. Home health care is usually less expensive, more convenient, and just as effective as care you get in a hospital or skilled nursing facility (SNF). ”

– Home Healthcare defined by Medicare.gov

Home based Healthcare

Home Health services include:

• Lab Investigation: Collection of blood and urine samples to perform liver function, kidney function, thyroid hormones, blood sugar profiling etc
• Nursing services: wound care, IV therapy, diabetic care, cardiac care, respiratory care, medication management, pain management, and cancer care.
• Therapy: Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and Speech Therapist for both adults and children.
• Personal care: one-on-one staff support for people with disabilities, children with special needs, post operative care, women care. Provide dependable, qualified, and compassionate caregiver to support day to day activities to perform

1. Monitoring serious illness and unstable health status
2. Appointment & medication reminders
3. Bathing: Bed baths, tub baths, or showers
4. Dressing, grooming, & toileting
5. Escorting clients to appointments
6. Mobility/ wheelchairs, & walkers
7. Assistance with eating
8. Supply of medications
9. Help in household chores

Home Healthcare market currently though at a nascent state, is all set to disrupt the conventional medical service space in India. With support from big funding houses,  access to new age technology and easy availability of nursing staff, players are taking big steps to capture the market.