Coronavirus crisis: Private hospitals launch home care packages for mild cases

Private hospitals are now offering home care packages to coronavirus patients as hospitals get increasingly crowded. These packages are only for patients with mild symptoms who are eligible for home isolation. Some of the hospitals rolling out this service are Max Healthcare, Medanta and Fortis Healthcare. This would help free up beds at hospitals.

These packages start from around Rs 5,000 for a period of 15-17 days. Max Healthcare is providing home care packages at Rs 5,000 (without BP machine) and Rs 7,000 (with BP machine) for a period of 15 days. Fortis' plan is priced at Rs 6,000 for 17 days while Medanta is offering the package at Rs 4,900 for 15 days.

Max offers vitals monitoring kits along with a digital thermometer, oximeter and a digital BP measuring machine in its package. A nurse calls the patient twice for vital monitoring, follow-ups and feedback and a doctor reviews the case every few days. A Max spokesperson said that the package is meant for mild coronavirus cases and ones with no symptoms.

Fortis offers an onboarding call by an assistant, who shows how to implement home isolation protocols, and includes four doctor consultations, a psychologist consult and a dietician consult, app-based self-reported inputs on temperature, heart rate, new symptoms or increase in symptoms.

Medanta's 15-day home care package starts at Rs 4,900 crore and goes up to Rs 21,900. The basic package involves four doctor consultations, daily remote monitoring by a trained nurse, vitals monitoring and dietician consultation. The complete Rs 21,900 package involves a basic package plus a coronavirus test N-95 masks, gloves, sanitiser, digital thermometer, BP Machine, SPO2, 3 ply mask and a PPE kit.

According to the Health Ministry guidelines, mild and pre-symptomatic cases can undergo home-isolation but the patient would have to be in touch with a hospital and the District Surveillance Officer and sign an undertaking.

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