Home Based Critical Care and Quality of Life Outcomes: A Review of Literature

For a long time, home based care in India, was an unorganized and fragmented sector but with the advent of higher centers of healthcare providers and entry of skilled providers, this field is on its way towards an organized, technology-led industry with standards and protocols. Advances in medical monitoring enables many types of patients � including the critical patients - those needing specialized care but not necessarily dependent on life support, to be monitored remotely and provided care at home. With the ever increasing burden on available facilities, it is pertinent that home based care would soon become an extended arm of the healthcare centers to help reduce length of stay, reduce hospital acquired infections (HAI) and allow for a more judicious use of ICU admissions to the very deserving and needy. Home based critical care has been shown not only to support outcomes similar to that of a health center, but also to provide an improved quality of life for the patients. In this review, we look at the available literature across the globe to support the improved quality of life provided by home based care programs.