India's Future in the Home Healthcare Sector

 A few years ago, availing home healthcare services was one of the services, which were exclusive to the financially endowed. Also, there was an air of stigma and doubt in utilising such services since Indian households, generally, decline the idea of availing the services of nurses. However, with evolving times, the demand for home healthcare services increased, mainly due to the issues such as,

  • Patients coming into the Emergency Room (ER) because there’s no one at home to take care or watch over them
  • The need to provide better care for people, especially the elderly, by managing their care proactively and not reactively
  • Lack of awareness or information about the benefits of home healthcare within the Indian medical community or the Indian public
  • Medical and clinical professionals are spreading the word amongst the medical fraternity on how home healthcare can play an important role in helping to better manage the patient and reduce the overall spend on healthcare by reducing hospital admissions

With an ageing population and the rapid increase in various types of chronic illnesses, there is an urgent and significant need for quality elderly home care services. Provided in the client’s home. Private sector medical institutions and government hospitals are unable to cope with the growing demand for 24/7 healthcare – in fact, the average Indian finds them difficult to access for a variety of reasons.

Is home healthcare the next best thing on the Indian healthcare scene?

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the following numbers clearly show the healthcare scenario in India. To quote WHO:

  • The doctor-patient ratio in this country is 1:1674 - much below WHO’s prescribed ratio of 1:1000
  • It spends about 1.4% of GDP on healthcare - half that of China
  • It's healthcare spend is one-eighth of developed nations such as Britain
  • Globally, the home healthcare segment is 3-6% of the total healthcare market.

This is a nascent market that has just one way to go - and that’s up.


Peace of mind at your doorstep

The other area that home nursing services can impact very positively is for senior citizens - because the aged have many more medical complications. To be hospitalized, with all the attendant complications of these chronic diseases, is quite unnecessary because such people don’t require the intensity or the high-tech inputs provided in hospitals. What they need is the care that a hospital service can provide – but provided in their own homes.

Home healthcare: an affordable option instead of hospitals 

There are quite a few home healthcare setups already in the market that are catering to big cities and metros, offering services for physiotherapy, nursing and attendant services, newborn care, post-operative care, among many others. The personalized attention of trained and highly qualified clinicians in the familiar and comfortable environment of the customer’s own home is quite tempting as opposed to being treated in crowded and/or very expensive hospitals.

IHHC, India’s first institutionalized home healthcare service, delivers quality healthcare for people in the comfort of their homes. The first of its kind in India, IHHC has set the benchmark for others to follow. 

Reference Article: Geriatric Nursing Care

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