Eldercare: Top priority for the Nation
When a global brand promised ‘delivery in 30 minutes or free’, the whole country got excited and started ordering pizza. Fast forward to 2022, and we have the promise of a 10-minute grocery delivery. Between the food, grocery and other services ‘at the click of a button’ and at the ‘convenience of your home’, where did the most needed emergency care services leave behind? Or the question to ask is: why was there no attention to build similar business models in challenging sectors like emergency care, eldercare?
The lack of serious attention to emergency care and eldercare got amplified during the pandemic, where unfortunately many lost friends and family members. Each household was worried sick about their senior family members as hospitals were overwhelmed and there were no dedicated services for the needs of the elderly. India has 7.6 crores senior citizens — well over the UK's population of 6.5 crores — and this is expected to swell to 17.3 crores by 2025[1].
After the untimely loss of lives during the pandemic, geriatrics or geriatric medicine, which focuses on healthcare of elderly people and wellbeing of senior citizens, should be a top priority in the nation’s agenda. The action plan should be designed in such a way that takes into consideration different risk levels associated with different age groups, life cycle of respective health ailments and geographical location. For example, there could be different action plans for the metro dwellers, Tier 1,2,3 towns and rural India.
Most of the citizens in the 60-75 age group in metro towns are relatively active – both physically and mentally – and require a place where they can interact with their peer group, pursue some hobby, engage and enjoy the things which somehow got left out in their pursuit of livelihoods and looking after the family and children. They require retirement communities, where they own a house or take it on a lifelong lease, in a gated complex with full amenities especially primary healthcare and emergency response, and the management and the staff of the place to exhibit care and passion. Seniors-only housing—for people aged above 55—took off in India about 15 years ago and is growing fast[1].
However, seniors living in intergenerational households require a care ecosystem, where they are not always dependent on friends or neighbors and don’t have to travel distances or stand in queues either. Due to time constraints associated with working professionals, Digital Healthcare could help
For Tier 1,2,3 towns, access to specialists might be a challenge. Telemedicine along with medical records online through mobile apps will ensure:
• Easy and fast access to diagnostics and specialized medical services
• Remote access to test results
• Constant access to personal health records
• Convenient for patient/ doctor to seek expert opinion
• No need to commute to medical centers, saving time and money
In today’s world (especially during COVID) where we are working on various platforms and sharing information digitally, why can’t we have all health records stored online at one place too, irrespective of which doctor or hospital one goes to. With multiple players in primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare, physical data gets lost / is unavailable creating complications/ adding to cost of care (repeat tests)
For rural India, we could start with access to doctors – general physicians and specialists – through internet-based applications and medicine delivery through supply chain networks and/or drones (remote areas). Once the basics are covered, other assistive healthcare services can be slowly integrated, with time.
Telemedicine is not only video consultations, but also includes
• Diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of patients (including history taking and appropriate physical examination) by means of electronic technology
• Electronic exchange of health information including the collection, transmission, and interpretation of patient data
• Extraction of health data from wearable devices
• Quick exchange of digital information via patient portals, tablets, and cell phones (allowing for updates and reminders)
We need a 3-pronged approach to make sure that the Healthcare sector takes off in the manner discussed above.
We should leverage India’s platforms as public goods for Healthcare, similar to the digital revolution we have seen in Fintech. There should be adequate funding for Healthcare, both from the Government and the private investor community and VC firms. And last, but not the least, the customer /user experience must be pleasant.
In a vast country like India, which is equivalent to multiple nations combined, both in terms of land and in terms of population, telemedicine and care/ support systems are the two pillars that will provide strength to the mental and physical wellbeing of our ageing population–people who worked hard for their families and their nation– that’s the least we could do for them in their golden years.
[1]https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tomorrowmakersshow/70227809.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
Technologies Sales and Video Analytics
3yyear by year number of elderly homes increasing and the major issue is government Don’t have policy or data to provide service Funding will be easy as it’s still very huge market size globally
Strategic Advisor | 30+ yrs Corporate Experience | Helping Founders & Startups Leverage AI for Social Media, Content & Personal Branding
3yMy thoughts on elder care industry: though there is a crying need for eldercare , neither the elders nor their children want to pay for these services . Hence even though there are small entrepreneurs who want to provide /are servicing already are struggling, in fact bleeding to survive I would say. Thus is rejected by investors /funders as not being a sustainable and scalable model; don’t have the capacity to hire good resources and so on .
Founder│Senior Living Consultant│Board Advisor│Adjunct Faculty
3yShuchita Gupta Well articulated, I guess the whole eco system needs to understand the needs of the elders. Just a humble feedback, India has almost 140 million elders, though the figures do not matter, what matters most is person centric care .. Just my two pennies of inputs.
Building in Longevity | Health Span Optimization | Women’s Health | Active Ageing | BW Healthcare 40 U 40 2024
3yI think it is complicated by the implications of failure. Failure to deliver grocery in 10 min cannot be equated with failure to deliver emergency care in 10 min. Given the infrastructure in most parts of the country, unpredictability of traffic and dearth of trained personnel - how can an entrepreneur make such a promise with a clean conscience? Many attempt to provide aid to elders in need but can we ensure there is no punitive measure in case of failure? And in absence of punitive measures when you don't deliver on a promise - what holds the business accountable? Health care delivery is not equivalent to grocery/food/cab delivery. Health care is unforgiving - as it should be - and that is deterrent for most.
Independent consultant , Audit of field processes and drafting SOPs to ensure efficient and effective field work operations
3yYes,health care should also be available at the click of a button