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Many Singaporeans believe that when one is ill, one can only receive care in the hospital.
However, in recent years, there have been medical groups that offer home care for patients, particularly the elderly with chronic diseases.
One of these is MW Medical's mobiledoctor service, which was founded in 2002 by Dr Madeleine Chew in response to the needs of an ageing population.
"When I first started the mobiledoctor service, home care was not prevalent in Singapore. House calls were conducted with little follow-up and with no multidisciplinary care," she told AsiaOne Health in an e-mail interview. "I felt that the ageing population will require home care where they can have the choice to remain in society while receiving treatment."
Home care is also cheaper and offers more personalised care to individuals as compared to hospital care, said Dr Chew, who explained that it benefits patients by helping them stay active. While patients tend to be less active and communicative when they are hospitalised, home care gives patients the opportunity to receive treatment while staying at home, interacting with family members and doing daily physical activities, said Dr Chew.
In the following Q&A, Dr Chew explains what home care is all about.
1. What is home care?
Home care can be subdivided into chronic care, sub-acute care and acute care.
For chronic home care, caregivers usually undertake a bigger role. They have to take care of medications, daily activities and monitor required vitals such as blood pressure and temperature for patients. Visits by doctors and nurses range between 6 weeks to 3 months. The medical team modifies drug intake, conducts objective tests and advises caregivers on other aspects of care. Nurses also help to change feeding tubes and urinary catheters for patients. Physiotherapists will keep patients active physically.
In sub-acute home care, patients usually have conditions which can be managed with a few hours of daily nursing care such as intravenous therapy or dressing. Medical conditions include community acquired pneumonia, acute flare of diseases like gout, rheumatoid arthritis and urinary tract infection. Doctors visit patients once or twice a week, while relatives or caregivers continue with their daily activities.
In acute home care, patients are very ill and many opt not to be hospitalised so as to be more comfortable at home while they receive appropriate medical care. The team, which consists of nurses, therapists and doctors, provides 24 hour medical attention and care. Caregivers, on the other hand, offer support by providing encouragement to patients.
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