(PART 2 OF 2)
Balay Atipan’s system is data driven. This enables specialists to do teleconsult via Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Zoom and social media applications like Messenger. While doing the teleconsult, a doctor can view a patient’s medical history and other data from an electronic medical dashboard. All information is saved in a database. This database makes retrieving a patient’s data remotely anytime of the day with ease and enables the home office to connect patients to physicians quickly.
Dr. John Alejano said doctors have been doing teleconsultation even before the pandemic, however they were forced to fully utilize technology at the onset of the pandemic because of protocols that aim to control the spread of the virus.
The house calls made by doctors is what gives this kind of treatment a “human touch”. The fast spread of the Delta variant late last year never stopped him from doing house calls for he strongly believes that a doctor’s physical presence is a big factor in an ill person’s speedy recovery. “The patient needs to see his doctor. A physician’s presence is very important because it gives the patient assurance that he is well-taken care of. There is compassion and genuine concern. Only doctors can do that because we are trained to do that,” said Dr. Melvin Ibanez.
But home care is not solely for those with COVID. A daughter who lives abroad is grateful tothe holistic home care services her aging mother received.
“I am one of those Filipinos who live abroad and are confronted daily with the thought of our elderly parents back home. The pandemic prevented me from being able to visit and check on my mother quarterly. Travels stopped and mom’s routine abruptly changed – Isolated, forcibly quarantined in her home, and could not see her friends. Mom’s health deteriorated,” said Indonesia-based senior UN economist Dr. Cel Salta-Macesar.
Dr. Salta-Macesar said her stress levels went up as she kept worrying about her 87-year-old mother who was suffering from a urinary tract infection (UTI) that time. Her mom’s Internal Medicine specialist, Dr. Helen Campos, recommended that her mother get hospital-like home care.
“My mom was given an all-out home care (nurse shifts at home, 5 days of IV antibiotics, 3x a day Blood sugar check, BP, etc.) They went out of their way to take care of her. It was an end-to-end care service from tele-consult to medicine procurement, supplies, nurses to check on mom, home blood tests and doctor’s home visits. It has been three months since we started with the holistic treatment. Mom is recovering strong,” she added.
With home care, Ibanez explained, patients experience better clinical outcomes like lower rates of mortality and there is better satisfaction of family and better functional outcomes plus, the cost savings. “A moderate COVID case in a hospital under isolation will cost a patient P350,000 but with home care, it will only entail around P80,000. There is a huge difference. It is more or less a 70% difference in treatment cost. Fees of patients under home care are adjusted based on their paying capacity,” he stressed.
Balay Atipan and its innovative approach to healthcare is proof that a healthcare specialist need not be a rocket scientist to figure out what needs to be done in the midst of a health crisis – something that is very responsive to the needs of the community.
This team of specialists and frontliners want to show the government that as the world faces and braces for more emerging infectious diseases, home care is a workable solution to a problematic healthcare system.
For those who want to know more about home care you may get in touch with Balay Atipan at balayatipan.com or call them via these numbers 09294780834 and (034) 4685203.*