Indian Home Healthcare Industry Outlook 2021: The Road Ahead

There are ample reasons to believe that virtual monitoring and on-demand home healthcare services will become an integral and essential part of healthcare ecosystems

By Vaibhav Tewari

Pixabay

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

The healthcare industry has always been synonymous with innovation and using advanced technologies for better outcomes and greater patient comfort. The crucial role of innovation and technology driven out of home healthcare industry has been amply underscored by the service providers in this sector in the wake of the pandemic outbreak. As the pandemic spread, the country was put under lockdown and out-patient departments as well as doctors' clinics suspended their services to avoid becoming virus hotspots. Consequently, patients with chronic ailments, minor diseases, and those in post-surgery/injury rehab stage were left without any medical support as hospitals catered to critical patients or serious COVID-19 cases.

In such circumstances, home healthcare emerged as the true champion for people. In fact, even among the COVID-19 positive cases, no less than 80 per cent are either asymptomatic or don't require hospitalization. Thus, there is a massive demand for out-of-hospital healthcare in the country. It is estimated that the home healthcare industry in India is growing at CAGR of 15-19 per cent a year and will be valued at around $11–13 billion by 2025 compared with $5.4 billion at present (RedSeer Consulting).

The major healthcare related consumer pain points in the post COVID-19 scenario are access and availability, infection risks, higher costs of repeat hospital visits and hospitalization costs as well as the lack of quality personal care. The innovative services offered by the home healthcare sector have proved to be highly efficient and practical in addressing these. Their biggest USP is the cutting-edge technologies that they bring into operation offering various diagnostic and assistance services. This includes dialysis and chemotherapy at home alongside chronic disease management, rehabilitation and therapeutic care as well as home isolation services for COVID-19 patients. The technology-based home healthcare providers run fully digital operations which help in generating data necessary for the implementation of the National Digital Health Mission.

The pandemic risks made it necessary for the elderly, patients of chronic diseases and people with weak immunity to avoid visiting hospitals and physical healthcare facilities as far as possible. However, this created an unaddressed demand for care and doctors' consultations for patients to continue their medication or to seek advice for regular healthcare concerns. The advanced telemedicine technology has made it very convenient for people to opt for this channel. Through video calls and online messaging services, patients or their family members can discuss the patient's condition, share diagnostic reports and seek prescription for the health issues. Through usage of technology, doctors can remotely inspect the patients and advise them accordingly.

Similarly, tele-consultations can also help alleviate fears and apprehensions affecting the general public. For instance, when a patient is declared COVID-19 positive, there are a lot of doubts and questions that the family members might have. However, due to the isolation, they are not able to discuss them with doctors. Tele-consultation helps bridge this gap and in getting authentic and real-time information.

The healthcare challenges experienced during the pandemic are likely to continue into the foreseeable future as COVID-19 continues to affect many countries. What this has also done is to generate greater awareness and demand for quality healthcare at home. Thus, the emerging practice of remote monitoring and consultations aka virtual care and visits will only gain momentum in 2021.

Cutting-edge technology and high-speed Internet access has already ensured that we can remain at home and avail all necessary services such as supplies, entertainment, education, work and remuneration at home. According to WHO's data, there were about 900 million elderly people in the world in 2015, and by the year 2050, senior citizens will touch the 2 billion mark. With the rise in virtual technology innovations, there is ample reason to believe that virtual monitoring and on-demand home healthcare services will become an integral and essential part of healthcare ecosystems all over the world.

Vaibhav Tewari

Co-founder and COO, Portea Medical

Related Topics

Thought Leaders

The Collapse of Credit Suisse: A Cautionary Tale of Resistance to Hybrid Work

This cautionary tale serves as a reminder for business leaders to adapt to the changing world of work and prioritize their workforce's needs and preferences.

Leadership

5 Winning Habits That Will Transform Your Leadership Skills

Ready to take your leadership skills to the next level? Discover the five winning habits that will transform you into an exceptional leader!

Living

21 Productive Things to Do During Your Commute

How to use this frustrating "wasted time" to get smarter, more focused and re-energized.

Business Process

Why Embracing Chaos is Crucial to Your Success and Longevity

Chaos engineering is a popular idea in software engineering, centered around the premise that deliberately breaking a system to gain information will ultimately help improve that system's resiliency. Given the uncertainty of our times, CEOs might want to apply this type of approach in their corporate sustainability strategies.

Business News

A Man Went To Italy For Pizza and the Entire Trip Cost Him Less Than One Domino's Pizza -- Here's How He Did It

Influencer Callum Ryan pulled off the seemingly impossible on a recent adventure to Milan, Italy.

Starting a Business

5 Ways Entrepreneurship Can Help Teenagers Overcome Negative Peer Pressure

Here are some of the positives teenage entrepreneurship can have concerning peer pressure.