Homecare demand in check in Omicron wave, largely limited to seniors

A recent study by ICMR also found most symptoms weren't as evident as in earlier waves and the use of drugs on admitted patients was also quite limited

The Omicron variant-led third wave of the pandemic has not just seen fewer hospitalisations but also lower demand for homecare facilities, compared to the second wave. While most patients testing positive in the current wave are in home isolation, the demand for home care is largely spurred by senior citizens, as families do not want to take any chances and ensure their safety, according to industry experts.

“People are now well aware about how the disease usually progresses and things that can go wrong with the elderly and the co-morbid. Some have opted for home healthcare instead of being hospitalised for monitoring of their health,” Vaibhav Tewari, Co-Founder and CEO, Portea Medical-home healthcare provider.

Tewari said that during the first wave there was higher demand for telemedicine and doctor consults and managing the patients who were in isolation. Home healthcare demand picked up during the second wave when hospital beds and oxygen support was also a crisis.

A recent study by the Indian Council of Medical Research also found that most symptoms weren't as evident as in earlier waves and the use of drugs on admitted patients was also much lower during the ongoing wave.

Health Care at Home (HCAH) has seen an increase in demand for its services during the ongoing wave, including for administering the antibody cocktail treatment for Covid. The demand for oxygen, however, has been negligible.

“The demand is flattening now because of the reducing number of cases in places like Delhi and Mumbai . Although Karnataka and Kerala are still showing an upsurge, that has not translated much into a demand for out of hospital care as in the previous wave,” Vivek Srivastava, Co-Founder and CEO, HCAH said.  

One of the reasons, experts said for the same is high vaccination rate and awareness and therefore, lesser panic in the masses.

“We had also seen a lot of people buying equipment in the second wave but this time the requirement for home ICU and equipment has been muted,” Srivastava added.

Fortis Hospitals said that it re-enabled its home care services at the beginning of the third wave. “However, an increase in demand for home care services was not witnessed, rather, patients who were isolating and undergoing treatment at home, sought tele-video consultations with the caregivers,” said S. Narayani, Zonal Director, Fortis Hospitals, Mumbai.

A recent McKinsey study has highlighted that globally $265 bn worth of healthcare services currently being delivered in clinics, facilities and physician's offices could shift to home by 2025.

“For remote home isolation the costs came down as the duration (of isolation) was reduced and also the isolation kit contents costs also came down,” said Mahesh Joshi , President & Chief Executive Officer at Apollo Home healthcare.

Companies also said that the cost had to come down after going through the roof in the last wave and therefore price had to be adjusted.

Industry experts also said that the costs have also started to come down. A slew of unorganised players have entered this space in India, which has resulted in a pressure on the prices of the services offered. “More players entering only expands the market in India," said a senior executive.  

A Nathealth white paper titled ‘Indian Home Healthcare 2.0: Redefining the Modern Care Continuum’ has said that there is an urgent need to establish minimum standards for home care providers in order to streamline and standardise care delivery. The healthcare industry body has also suggested that there is a need to establish a specialised homecare workforce by introducing curriculum and training standards for home care personnel.

The Indian homecare market is growing at 19 per cent CAGR, expected to grow around 2.5 times by 2025. With the right impetus, this market has the potential of an additional $5 billion. Increasing healthcare costs, growing elderly population, lack of skilled manpower and greater demand for care outside institutions has necessitated innovative solutions in the home care space.