In a country like India where accessing quality healthcare services is still challenging, home healthcare seems to be a viable option. The healthcare industry which is often inundated by resourcing issues, capacity optimization, etc. also considers home healthcare as a good alternative for care delivery.
 
However, there are certain challenges that exist within home healthcare that affect patient experience and outcomes. Ubiqare has identified these challenges and addressed them through its unique model.

Challenge 1: Discontinuity in Care

When Aruna’s multiple sclerosis progressed and made it difficult for her to regularly visit her specialist in the hospital, she experienced pain attacks and loss of bodily movements. This could have been managed by changing medications in time.
 
This scenario is quite common for chronic illness patients who require long-term care. They continue to be under the medical oversight of a specialist as long as they are in a position to visit the hospital.However, they experience a discontinuity in the specialist care when hospital visits become difficult.
 
A home care agency in such cases implements its own protocol which may not be aligned to the
specialist’s follow up care.
 

How Ubiqare Addresses This

We collaborate with the treating specialist and implement their own follow up care protocol for the patient at home. Our Care Doctor implements this follow up care protocol physically and remotely. This way we address the disconnect in care that persists in regular home care service models.
 

Challenge 2: Lack of Doctor Oversight

Chronic illness patients often require doctor’s assistance for symptomatic relief or for managing the treatment’s side effects.
 
This is what 35 years old Sneha experienced as she battled advanced bile duct cancer. As she underwent treatment, she started struggling with side effects. She developed bilateral pedal edema. She also developed nausea, constipation, and sleep disturbances. Her family made frequent hospital visits to
seek treatment for these side effects.
 
Some of these side effects can be managed at home. In cases like this home care service providers do provide doctor’s assistance. But this doctor would not have the full understanding of the patient’s medical history and illness progression. It is as difficult as talking to a new doctor and explaining the full
history – every single time.
 

How Ubiqare Addresses This

We assign a dedicated Care Doctor to each patient to regularly monitor the patient’s condition and maintain digital records. The Care Doctor also engages with the treating specialist. In times of need, the Care Doctor has complete understanding of the patient’s case and can offer right kind of medical help.

Challenge 3: Inadequate Nursing Abilities

Many times, the patient’s family hires a basic nurse to support them with caregiving. However, these basic nurses are not qualified to conduct clinical procedures at home.

When 86 years old Shailaja suffered a severe stroke, she lost her ability to move. She was fitted with Ryle’s Tube for feeding and a urinary catheter. Her family hired a nurse for her. However, they had to take her to hospital for change of catheter, cleaning of Ryle’s Tube, etc. These visits could have been
avoided if they were supported by a specialty nurse qualified to conduct these procedures.

How Ubiqare Addresses This

Our trained specialty nurses are qualified to offer clinical interventions to patients. So, in cases of complications, they offer guided clinical interventions at home under the supervision of doctors. This timely clinical help prevents early onset of complications from aggravating and reduces hospital readmissions.

Challenge 4: Coordination of Care

When 72 years old Renuka underwent a hip replacement surgery she knew recovery would take time.But soon she found herself in a complicated situation where mobility became difficult which in turn affected her blood sugar levels and BP.
 

In cases like these, patients often require support of different clinical experts. Since these experts are not connected to each other through a common mechanism they lack full view of patient’s care program. This creates gaps in their care approach which affects patient outcomes.
 

How Ubiqare Addresses This

We use a digital ecosystem that creates a collaborative care environment for different clinical experts. It enables multidisciplinary care where different experts can consult each other. This ensures that the patient’s condition is looked at holistically by each specialist and is treated accordingly.

Challenge 5: Caring Problems

There are times when hospitals offer early discharge to patients believing that rest of the recovery can be managed at home. However, the family of the patient is not given enough guidance on how to perform certain basic caregiving tasks at home.
 

76 years old Rajagopalan’s family found themselves in similar situation when he was discharged from the hospital. A patient of oral cancer, he was operated on for tumor removal. When he was discharged his wound has not healed and he was on feeding tube.
 

In absence of a nurse, his family struggled with dressing his wound, cleaning his feeding tube, maintaining oral hygiene, etc. The lack of guidance led to infections which required additional treatment.
 

How Ubiqare Addresses This

As a home healthcare provider, we provide guidance to the family members on basic caregiving tasks. We explain them importance of certain tasks and how to perform them for the patient’s benefit. We also guide them on matters of personal hygiene of the patient. This makes it easy for the family to take
care of the patient in absence of a caretaker or a nurse.
 

Conclusion

We believe that as a home healthcare service provider it is crucial to prioritize treatment outcomes and patient’s quality of life. In order to do this, we have modified the traditional delivery model for home care. By combining digital specialty with clinical telepresence, we are addressing the challenges that affect patient outcomes and their quality of life. Our approach to home healthcare also reduces avoidable hospital visits and readmissions.