As the cry for oxygen and hospital beds continue to haunt the country, RxDx Healthcare, a chain of telemedicine enabled primary care clinics in Bengaluru, has rapidly ramped up its covid care at home packages with an aim to prevent hospitalisations and reduce the load on hospital beds.

It is currently managing 375 active patients at home and is ramping up capacity to 2000 active patients being treated at home at a time. This would amount to the work done by ten 200-bedded hospitals.

According to Dr. Chhavi Mehra, Quality Head at RxDx Healthcare, thus far, less than 10% of the 2000 patients managed at home by the RxDx team have needed to be referred to the hospital for admission.

Home care includes 1) tele consultations with doctors, physiotherapists, nutritionists and counsellors 2) daily monitoring of vitals (including the oxygen saturation reading via the oximeter) and 3) pharmacy prescriptions and home drop offs plus nursing visits at home for lab blood draws or testing within Bengaluru.

Unlike public perception, COVID care at home is not just monitoring the patient but also prescribing early and ongoing treatment with medications such as inhalational steroids, anti-virals and anti-clotting medications to reduce the chance of worsening inflammation and cytokine storms. The adults consult physicians and internal medicine specialists while children receive paediatrician's consultations.