In this protocol, those patients diagnosed with Covid-19, are provided with home monitoring devices, such as blood pressure apparatus, glucometers and thermometer | Representational image/Praveen Khanna (Express) A GROUP from Kerala has shown how virtual Covid in-patient (VCIP), a novel concept of providing “in patient” level care at home during the pandemic, can prevent overwhelming hospitals. This new interventional home care model for Covid management has shown that among 220 patients who availed of the virtual Covid in patient facility, only two were hospitalised yielding a 99.5 per cent success rate in preventing hospitalisations.
The detailed account of protocol and methodology and the successful outcomes have been published in Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews, an Elsevier journal recently.
Dr Jothydev Kesavadev, managing director, Jothydev’s Diabetes Research Centre, Kerala, said the model, described as VCIP care, strictly follows evidence-based recommendations on evaluation and treatment of Covid-19, but the difference is that the patient is completely treated in their own houses, by themselves and their family members.
In this protocol, those diagnosed with Covid-19, are provided with home monitoring devices, such as blood pressure apparatus, glucometers and thermometer. The VCIP team consists of highly-trained doctors, nurses, diabetes educators, dietitians, psychologists and others. The nurses via video consultations trained the patients and the caretakers at home to use the devices themselves, especially on continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices. In this home-based interventional model, lab investigations are also carried out, as and when required.
The model has been executed and delivered from Jothydev’s research centre, and all 220 patients who availed the VCIP facility recovered. This model is extremely cheap and economic, when compared to hospitalisation and can be remotely managed with a small team of experts who can take care of hundreds of patients.
The experts involved in the conceptualization and execution of the treatment involve Dr Hari PN, Wisconsin, USA, Dr Rebecca Vitale, Boston, USA, along with other co-authors comprising doctors, nurses and dietitians ,” Dr Jothydev said.
The study was presented at the Advanced Technologies & Treatments for Diabetes ATTD, Virtual (Paris), 2021, in June and has also been submitted to the minister of health and family welfare, Kerala, for the evaluation of the feasibility of the concept and its emergency implementation to improve the access to healthcare during a pandemic like Covid.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
