Delivering equitable and affordable cancer care is one of the most significant healthcare challenges in India. During the cancer treatment, the patient is not the only one who suffers, for example, patients and their families are required to reach the hospital 2-3 hours prior to the appointed slot for admission process, and stay back post-treatment for billing and insurance, taking up an entire day. More importantly, patients from tier III, tier IV, and tier V towns suffer the most as chemo day care facilities are concentrated primarily in the metros, tier I & tier II cities.
Speaking on the launch, Jignesh Patel - Founder and CEO of Jivika Healthcare said, "With our innovative concept of ChemoAtHome, we aspire to serve cancer patients by taking chemotherapy to their doorsteps. We want to be the supporters in strengthening healthcare ecosystem and be a change-maker in the way cancer care is delivered in India. Our service will enable patients to continue receiving chemotherapy without the trouble of multiple hospital readmissions for clinical interventions and regular follow-up sessions."
He further added, "As a part of safety and quality care, a detailed risk stratification will be done by our cancer specialists and the patients will be served under ChemoAtHome as per our eligibility criteria. E.g., Patients who have received first two cycles of successful chemotherapy without any uneventful situation and those without severe cardiac history fall under our inclusion criteria. Our exclusion criteria include patients with gastro-intestinal cancer, blood cancer, multiple comorbidities, cardiac issues with LVEF (Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction) of less than 45%, lung disorders, kidney disorders on MHD and those who have been withheld by the oncologist after evaluation."
Dr Arman Khan, Medical Officer at Jivika Healthcare said, "Cancer is a physically and emotionally exhausting illness for a patient. Receiving chemotherapy in their home environment, around their near and dear ones will help patients recover faster as it will have a positive impact on patients' treatment outlook. ChemoAtHome service by Jivika Healthcare will bring an MBBS doctor at patient’s home with crash cart to handle any kind of emergency right at the place of chemo administration – giving hospital-like treatment with safety."
Over a period, an important problem Jivika Healthcare aims to solve is to reach smaller towns as Chemo Day Care facilities are concentrated within Tier I, Tier II cities and very few Tier III. This increases overall suffering for patients in Tier III, IV and beyond cities as they discontinue the treatment considering the hardships faced by patient and family. With the asset-light model, ChemoAtHome services will reach smaller towns where currently Chemo Day Care facilities are a dream.
At ChemoAtHome, besides Doorstep Chemotherapy, pre and post-chemotherapy services like video consultations with oncologists, supportive cancer care treatments, lab investigations, and home delivery of medicines can be availed. Visit www.ChemoAtHome.com for more details.
