As a cancer care navigator, we help cancer patients and caregivers by providing answers to their questions, connecting them to the right service providers, and coordinating services. Our independent advice is founded in our experience of 10,000 days of care for patients.
 
In our care navigation series, we look to provide answers to some of the most common questions we encounter from patients and their families

Under home care service will a doctor be available to make home visits?

Availability of a doctor depends a great deal on the type of home program opted for. There are some programs that only make nursing attendants available. Doctor services are not included in the package. In some cases, the care program is drawn by a doctor and handed over to the nursing staff to implement. Should the patient need medical advice or assistance, they have to ask the assigned case manager for a consult with the doctor.
 
At Ubiqare, we provide doctor-driven home care service to cancer patients. A dedicated care doctor is assigned to each patient who regularly monitors the patient’s condition and engages with the family caregivers. The care doctor also collaborates with the treating oncologist to extend his follow-up care regime at home and keep him updated about the patient’s condition.

What services will be included in cancer home care program?

This again depends on the condition of the patient and the stage of cancer. Different home care service providers have different packages available. These packages include services like chemotherapy at home, infusion therapy, nursing help, rehabilitation services, nutritional support, etc.
 
Ubiqare advises their patients to get a home care package designed for them specifically. Such customization allows them to pick and choose the services they want based on their oncologist’s recommendations.

What is the cost of cancer home care service?

Like mentioned earlier, different home care service providers offer different packages at different price points. However, in general, the cost of cancer home care service is less than the cost of having those services in the hospital.
 
When considering the cost of care, hospital costs include doctor consultations, lab and diagnostics, pharmacy costs, intervention and procedural charges, readmission charges, etc. Home care services can help you reduce your readmission charges. If your home care service provider can offer clinical interventions at home and avoid hospital visits, then it would further reduce your cost.
 
In a retrospective cohort study done in 2019, Ubiqare has handled 96% of the episodes at home thereby avoiding hospital visits for the patients under their care.
 
The extent of decrease in overall care costs will depend on multiple factors like complexity of care needed, capabilities of your cancer home care provider, the number of episodes experienced, duration of care, etc.
 
Check out our cancer home care service here: https://ubiqare.in/cancer-care-at-home/

 
In our next post, we will address a few more questions commonly asked by cancer patients. To get a free one-on-one consult with our cancer care navigators, call us at +91-8047096828 or write to us at [email protected].