Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Monday, April 26, that the Department of Health (DOH) is planning to distribute “home care kits” for people with mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 cases.
In a virtual press briefing, Vergeire said the kits will be part of a package aimed at offering treatment to mild and asymptomatic patients who needed to isolate at home but were worried about home care without the direct supervision of health professionals.
It would also form part of the agency’s efforts to “redirect patients going straight to the hospitals,” she added, which have so far been reserved for moderate to severe coronavirus cases.
“Let me emphasize, this is part of a complete process. Not just the kit but also, there would be a system and process where they would be guided on how to use these kits and they will also be guided on what facility they would need for that certain status of their illness,” Vergeire said.
What to expect
Vergeire explained the DOH’s home care package will include a financing scheme for patients needing such care, and would be linked to telemedicine hotlines, as well as the One Hospital Command system and local government’s health systems to monitor those getting treatment at home.
It would also include instructions on how to monitor patients’ conditions, when to seek treatment in hospitals, and emergency hotlines for local governments’ health navigation and triaging or management of cases.
Aside from this, Vergeire said home care packages will include items like face masks, alcohol or sanitizers, face shields, and common disinfection supplies like bleach and cleaning kit materials. It will also include thermometers, vitamins, and common medications like paracetamol, she added.
Vergeire said the DOH was eyeing to distribute pulse oximeters which monitor a person’s oxygen levels, though this would depend on whether it was feasible with the agency’s budget for the program.
The DOH is currently negotiating with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to come up with a financial package for patients needing home treatment for COVID-19. A meeting between the two agencies is scheduled for Friday, April 30, after which more details on the package and when it would be rolled out will be available, Vergeire said.
Why it matters
Since the start of the pandemic, majority of COVID-19 infections in the Philippines were reported to be asymptomatic or mild cases, which were eligible for isolation at home or in quarantine centers.
Despite this, many patients were reluctant to opt for such in fear of their infections progressing to more serious conditions without medical supervision, or were unable to properly observe home quarantine due to their surroundings.
The situation had prompted some government officials to suspect that inadequate home quarantine was partly fueling the spread of COVID-19 cases and in turn, crowding out hospitals reserved for more serious cases needing urgent treatment.
Earlier this month, the DOH said that a census of cases in early April found the mild and asymptotic cases admitted in hospitals at the time could free up some 30 to 40% of beds in high level health facilities if they were transferred to quarantine facilities. The finding came as the country witnessed a fast-increasing surge in cases that has crippled the health system and forced hundreds, if not thousands of patients, to seek admission in strained hospitals.
Efforts to improve home care for mild and asymptomatic cases had also been among the suggestions health workers urged the Duterte government to consider to provide better treatment to patients and avoid placing additional stress on overcrowded hospitals.
On April 26, the Philippines reported a cumulative 1 million COVID-19 cases, after 8,929 new infections were counted. The death toll due to the disease hit 16,853, following 70 new deaths reported on Monday. – Rappler.com
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