Medical care is undergoing rapid changes and the latest technology has provided solutions for the growing complex problems in aging care and other healthcare needs. With the pandemic taking a toll, it has added innovative care delivery methods for the nursing of patients from the comfort of homes moving beyond the traditional hospital beds where possible to cater to medical care.

The present figures by the National Health Commission, shows that there are over 40 million elderly individuals in China and that the aging population is increasing significantly where many elderly have full or partial disability. By 2050, this figure is expected to escalate to 97.5 million. Thus the demand for nursing care would spiral, but statistics from 2017 shows that there are only 3.8 million nurses to cater to these needs, which is significantly low.

3H has established its space in home nursing care in China, to contribute towards the growing need for acute and subacute care for patients. The present figures by the National Health Commission, shows that there are over 40 million elderly individuals in China and that the aging population is increasing significantly where many elderly have full or partial disability. By 2050, this figure is expected to escalate to 97.5 million. Thus the demand for nursing care would spiral, but statistics from 2017 shows that there are only 3.8 million nurses to cater to these needs, which is significantly low.

Recent Reforms in Medical Care in China Favours Home Nursing Care: Over the past decade, China has launched a new round of healthcare reforms which favour home nursing facilities. The country has been improving its graded healthcare system by implementing electronic medical record capture of patients and giving doctors the chance to practice medicine more freely. Thus, in addition to the basic healthcare services provided by the Chinese healthcare system, there are other special healthcare services allowed by the government to facilitate medical and nursing institutions to satisfy the special needs of patients to include full nursing care, specialist outpatient services and other outdoor care giving procedures.

Thus, with the necessary regulatory framework in place, 3H has stepped in to cater to the home nursing needs of the Chinese population. In line with the regulations, 3H ensures a high quality service through a team of highly qualified, well trained nursing staff who are technology savvy to support patients with the best possible care while respecting patient’s personal data safety and rights. There are many online nursing platforms which have come up recently, but there is a great deal of concern over the professional level and capability of the nurses registered on these platforms with no proper terms to regulate if there is an accident on who would take the final responsibility. 3H ensures that the employed nurses have the qualifications and experience to offer a valuable and reliable service to users.

Hospital in the Home by 3H

Home nursing is a rapidly growing sector and this mainly caters to older adults with acute and chronic conditions, who are stable enough to be looked after from home. However, this concept of home nursing care in rapidly gaining popularity in the other categories too, like patients in rehabilitation and individuals of all age groups with chronic disease. With the advancement in technology, home nursing has now extended to more complex services than in the past where home nursing was mainly for administering injections to patients, post-surgery care or postnatal care but now with technology in place, it has expanded to include chemotherapy, dialysis, and home infusions. Today, rehabilitation for chronic conditions at home is becoming more common. Thus, skilled medical care by nurses is essential and the 3H team in China caters to this rapidly growing demand in chronic and ongoing medical conditions.

The Benefits of Home Care Nursing

There are many benefits which home care nursing can bring. Apart from the most obvious fact that it allows patients to attain treatment from their homes, home nursing also helps to continuously monitor a patient’s health, which could prevent unnecessary hospital admissions for known complications. The average cost of care is lesser than a hospital stay and patients enjoy emotionally, having the necessary surrounding for healing and wellness. With better functional outcomes and better receipt of medication, it can lower mortality rates. In addition, because of greater satisfaction, patients might only need shorter days for home nursing care which involves lesser procedures. In addition, patients who were in homecare were usually found to be more active than those in hospitals. Home nursing care also provides a solution to the saturated medical care system by reducing the emergencies and medical burden at a National Level. With the ageing population increasing, the need for treatment of chronic diseases escalates and a well-established home nursing system in China would be a convenient option for healthcare services reducing hospital admissions.

A few Challenges Still Exist….

The existing medical insurances, may not cover all expenses like those of hospital stays, and patients may have to fund for themselves. In addition, most urban homes are small and may not accommodate medical accessibility needs. The houses are generally designed for young and able bodied individuals. Thus, modifications at homes may be needed to accommodate individuals with chronic conditions, for example grab bars and railings. If the patients are in rented homes, then bringing in these modifications may not be easy and home modifications come with a cost too. In addition, in certain homes it may not be easy to keep away occupational hazards. For example slips and falls due to slippery areas, sharps injuries and mental health stresses due to family woes. Improper waste disposal of sharps and other bio waste at homes is another hazard to consider and homes may not have the space to accommodate a medical team if needed.

However, all in all home nursing care has become a popular trend in China today and 3H together with partner Beijing Biotech (https://www.beijing-biotech.cn/) is happy to be part of this progress. To meet the demands of the geriatric patients, nursing care by reputed organisations would be the main future direction where verified, competent nurses could step in to help the aging community with disabilities through home nursing care. Modern technology has made it easy and safe for both patients and providers to carry out home nursing today. With many modern urban homes becoming ‘Smart Homes’, this helps with the much needed ambient intelligent technology to operate home nursing care. Telemedicine helps to share information real-time and residents of Smart Homes have the knowledge to operate technology needed for medical data collection, for example through smart wearables. The future of healthcare is evolving and home nursing care is one option which would rapidly take off the floor to help the ageing Chinese community with a good quality of life.

To know more about 3H approach for Home Nursing Support in China, please contact imran@3h-ms.co.jp