Karnataka: From tele-consultation to kits, private hospitals offer home-isolation packs

BENGALURU: With the surge in Covid-19 cases and the government allowing home isolation for patients with no or mild symptoms, private hospitals are offering home isolation packages which include tele-consultation and virtual monitoring.
Healthcare establishments say it’s demand driven as many apartment complexes prefer residents in home isolation and remotely monitored.Some have even offered to convert their club houses and party halls into community isolation centres. The packages begin at Rs 350 per day and go up to Rs 16,000 for 15 days. A package includes tele-consultation, virtual monitoring and a healthcare kit to track fever and oxygen saturation level. RxDx chain of clinics and Prakriya Hospitals offering them.
Two patients from Gottigere have signed up with Prakriya Hospitals. The hospital charges Rs 10,000 for its basic 7-day package which includes a medical kit comprising pulse oximeter, digital thermometer, N95 masks, sanitiser, incentive spirometer, waste disposal bags and gloves.
Virtual monitoring of vitals, oxygen saturation and medication compliance is done along with alternate-day video consultations with physicians. Mobility and breathing sessions are conducted by professional physiotherapists.
Portea Medical, an outside-hospital healthcare company that has handled 35,000 mild patients in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Punjab in collaboration with state governments, is currently in talks with the Karnataka government. “Of 35,000 asymptomatic, mild Covid-19 cases we monitored, only 500 required hospitalisation. We’re starting direct patient engagement shortly,” said Meena Ganesh, MD & CEO, Portea Medical. She said many apartments are looking at home service for mild cases. “The apartments are willing to convert their community halls, villas, club houses and party halls as community isolation centres where a nurse will be stationed,” she said. If someone develops severe symptoms, she will be shifted to hospitals, she added.
RxDx started home monitoring two days ago and currently has one patient.
Some apartment complexes feel it’s better their residents avail home packages if they turn positive as monitoring by a medical professional is better than self-monitoring. “So far, we don’t have any positive cases in our apartment but we should be prepared. We tell our association members that it’s better to enrol for a home healthcare package just to be on the safer side. Apartments usually have both young and old people, and it’s our social responsibility to ensure safety of all,” said Neelakantan Mahadevan, secretary, Gopalan Habitat Splendour apartments near Kundalahalli.