Cancer Treatment at Home: Positives for Patients and Hospitals

Cancer killed over five lakh people across India in 2010. And the figures are rising. Among the deaths, the mortality
was 71 per cent in the 30-69 age group. In the same age group, cancer alone accounted for 8 per cent of the 2.5
million total male deaths and 12 per cent of the 16 million total female deaths.

Though current figures are being compiled, the 2010 figures were put out in a study published in Lancet. The study
found that 7,137 of the 1,22,429 deaths during 2001-2003 were due to cancer, corresponding to 5,56,400 cancer
deaths in 2010.
All this shows that cancer cases are on the rise. Some of the deaths could have been postponed or made less
painful and traumatic through proper care. And one way of ensuring better care for patients afflicted by acute
cases of cancer, is health care at home. Even in end- stage cancer cases, most patients prefer to spend the last mile
at their homes surrounded by relatives and friends.
Most end-stage cancer patients need to be kept in Intensive Care Units (ICU) with the life-support system. For this,
patients need not be admitted to hospitals where the atmosphere could be depressing. An ICU can now be set up
at home.
HealthCare at Home India (HCAH) has been setting up ICUs for cancer patients and offering health care in oncology
and post-operative and palliative care at home. No treatment is involved, but HCAH ensures that the right kind of
medical care is provided to the patients in the close confines of a home.
Such services do not compete with hospitals or cancer centres. Home health care just complements the work done
by doctors in hospitals or clinics.
HCAH's well trained team offers a sophisticated technology platform and affordable medical care at home.
Leveraging on the rise in technology, an India-centric platform has been developed in association with the UKbased Healthcare at Home. Under this technology umbrella, all nursing and support staff are given a hand-held
tablet. This device can store and transmit all the critical data on patients to the treating doctors without loss of
time. This would help the treating physicians monitor the progress of cancer patients on a real-time basis and
make course correction in the treatment if needed.
All this need not be costly. A day's stay at the ICU in a good hospital would cost Rs 20,000-50,000. HCAH can set up
an identical facility at home at half the cost. Chemotherapy is offered at home at the same cost as in a hospital, but

patients can make substantial saving in time and money, as they do not have to travel long distances to reach
hospitals and stand in long queues.
Some cancer patients who have undergone surgery or chemotherapy may need physiotherapy. Health care at
home offers patient-centric physiotherapy packages that are affordable and can be done in the confines of ones
home.
Home services for cancer patients offer some major advantages. They are:

Friendly as the patients are treated at home.

Cost effective as the cancer patients would find lengthy hospital stay expensive.
Home health care allows a happier, well-monitored, flexible and less expensive recovery option for
patients.
Home health care makes patients and their families contributory partners in the recovery process.
No service is outsourced by HealthCare At Home. Hence the patients get high quality hospital-type care.

For hospitals:

Doctors can remotely monitor the patients.

Intervention is possible when the patients become critical.
There is no time loss.
Health care at home has emerged as an extension of a hospital.
Using technology, doctors and hospitals can monitor vital parameters of cancer patients.

Health Care At Home (HCAH) is Indias leading provider of home-based home care nursing catering to a broad
spectrum of patients. HCAH follows the best practices in medical care and maintains international protocols and
standards. HCAH has strived to provide the best health care services at home to its patients throughout its decadelong presence in the industry.