Apollo Hospital at Bannerghatta Road Bengaluru, announces the launch of 2 new programs for senior citizens – Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) and Transition of Care (TOC) Programs
The TOC transitional care program, a first-of-its-kind in our country, supports elderly patients through their first 2 weeks at home after a hospitalization at Apollo Hospital, so they can continue to be monitored and supported even after discharge through home visits from the specialist Geriatric team. This is even more beneficial for frail elderly, those who have multiple medical conditions or are at high risk of getting readmitted to the hospital. The HBPC program provides ongoing primary (routine) outpatient care by our Geriatric team for individuals aged 60 years and above at the comfort of their home, through home visits. A Geriatrician, nurse, physical therapist, social worker and pharmacist work together in this team to deliver Geriatric primary care at the comfort of the elderly individual’s home.
According to WHO, by 2030, 1 in 6 people in the world will be aged 60 years or older. Ageing comes with its unique challenges and a whole new set of issues. Speaking at the launch of these unique Geriatric programs, Dr. Aarthi Kannan, Consultant Geriatrician and Program Lead – HBPC and TOC programs, Apollo BG road said, “Transitioning home from the hospital after discharge, can be difficult for elderly patients and their families. Seniors often require more nursing visits, closer supervision during medication regimen changes, holistic rehabilitation and geriatric specialist support immediately after discharge from a hospital, which must be met in order to monitor their recovery process and restore them to their usual level of functioning and strength, whenever and wherever it is possible. So far, we have not had care programs in our country that fill these gaps. Our Transitional Care Program (TOC), aims to fill this gap and make post discharge care a safer and well supported experience for our elderly patients. Home based primary care (HBPC) on the other hand, is designed to meet the holistic primary care needs of those elderly patients who wish to avail geriatric specialist and team visits at home or are home-bound. Those who are interested can obtain more information on these two programs at the Apollo Hospital Bannerghatta Road information desk.”
Dr.Manish Mattoo, CEO Karnataka Region, Apollo Hospital said, “Whether it is fall prevention, holistic geriatric care, taking care of multiple chronic medical conditions, optimizing an elderly individual’s discharge process and supporting them during the post-discharge period or educating our elderly patients on how to stay healthy, we must offer end-to-end solutions to our elderly. Care of an older individual must not stop once they are discharged from a hospital. It is time we reach out to our elderly patients at their homes so we can complete their circle of care even while they are in the community. We aim to achieve this with our two new older adult focused programs.”
