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With medical inflation at an all-time high, a single trip to the hospital can put a significant dent in your savings. Buying a Health Insurance plan can offer you a lot of benefits including in-hospital care, pre and post-hospitalisation, ambulance charges, etc.
Along with the regular health benefits, health insurance also provides the insured, with domiciliary hospitalisation insurance benefits. Simply put, domiciliary hospitalisation is a hospital-like treatment at home. You can avail of this benefit and overcome the inflated prices of medical treatment, especially if you are looking for coverage for your elderly parents. Let’s delve deeper into understanding what is domiciliary hospitalisation, domiciliary hospitalisation meaning and how it works for you and your parents.
What is Domiciliary Hospitalisation?
Domiciliary hospitalisation is contrary to traditional hospitalisation. This is a one-of-a-kind hospitalisation that is given in the comforts of the patient’s own home. Doctors usually recommend this one-on-one treatment to older and disabled patients. These patients may suffer from mobility issues due to their long-term illness, comorbid diseases, or injury. Another reason for the doctor prescribing domiciliary hospitalisation can be the non-availability of beds in the hospital.
Medical equipment such as oxygen cylinders, electrocardiography machines, nebulisers, glucose bottles, etc., is provided to the patient based on the severity of their medical conditions. A nurse is also assigned to your home to monitor your parents’ health status regularly.
In this way, through the domiciliary hospitalisation services, the patients can be provided with the best possible care. Doctors and medical professionals regularly follow up on the medical reports to analyse the patient’s progress in health. As a result, your parents may gradually recover from their critical illness or injury, all in the comfort of their home.
How Does Domiciliary Hospitalisation for Senior Citizens in Health Insurance Work?
Typically, home care treatment is not a part of health insurance. However, home treatment and domiciliary hospitalisation are two different conditions. Here’s how. Imagine you are down with a fever you take a 2-day leave from the office. You consult your family doctor and take some medicines. This is home care. Domiciliary treatment is prescribed by a medical practitioner in a more severe case. It can happen due to the following three reasons:
- The patient is quite critical and cannot be taken to the hospital.
- Inadequate medical infrastructure, such as hospital beds, etc., is deficient at the hospital that you have chosen.
- Continuous hospitalisation for the patient is not possible.
You need to keep in mind that in domiciliary treatment you can’t apply for cashless treatment. You will have to ask for reimbursement for your medical expenses.
Now let’s come to the question, “What is domiciliary claim?” The domiciliary expenses claim is quite similar to a regular reimbursement claim. You only need to have all the test reports, doctor's prescriptions, medication bills, etc., with you to settle the claim. Once you apply for the domiciliary claim with all the essential documents, like the claim form and medical bills, your claim will be initiated soon after approval.
Despite being received at home, domiciliary expenses may put a big dent in your savings, just like traditional hospitalisation. It is recommended that you buy a health insurance policy for seniors that can cover inflated prices of all kinds of medical treatment.
What is Covered in Domiciliary Hospitalisation?
Most health insurance plans cover domiciliary expenses along with regular health insurance benefits. However, many things are included and excluded from the risk coverage benefits. It is highly recommended that you are well aware of the inclusion and exclusions of domiciliary hospitalisation.
Check out the following pointers to know what is exactly covered in domiciliary hospitalisation:
- E-consultations
- Medical expenses of at least 3 days of home treatment
- Advanced technology expenses
- Lab tests expenses
- Medications costs
- Caregiver/nurse fee
- Annual health check-ups
What is Not Covered in Domiciliary Hospitalisation?
Some medical conditions that are excluded from the domiciliary hospitalisation coverage include:
- Self-injury
- Injury due to attempt to suicide
- Miscarriage/ abortion
- External congenital disease
- Any disease due to overuse of drugs, alcohol, or tobacco
- Infertility treatment
- Injury due to unlawful activities
- Domiciliary hospitalisation due to communal riots, war, and nuclear weapon attacks
What Makes Domiciliary Hospitalisation a Great Feature for Seniors?
Domiciliary hospitalisation coverage is indeed a valuable feature in health insurance plans. It provides coverage for medical treatment that can be availed at home, which otherwise would require hospitalisation. This feature becomes particularly important for seniors who may have difficulty moving or require constant care due to their health conditions.
Let us take a look at how domiciliary hospitalisation can prove to be a great feature for seniors:
It Makes the Treatment Comfortable
A domiciliary hospital has upgraded medical treatment. Elders can get treatment from the comfort of their homes because of their mobility issues or chronic illness. They can get hospital-like treatment and medical equipment without coming out of their comfort zone.
It Reduces the Risk of Infection
Treatment is given to safeguard the life of patients. However, some vulnerable patients are more prone to catch infections. In this circumstance, doctors recommend domiciliary treatment. Hygiene and a clean atmosphere are inevitable for a patient’s recovery. Hospital-like treatment at home reduces the risk of secondary infection for the patient.
It Ensures Reliable Care
Though hospitals do their best to offer the best possible care, a domiciliary hospital is often considered the most reliable one. You, as the primary caretaker of your parents, will be able to monitor their health condition at home. This one-on-one treatment ensures a special kind of care for the patient that can be missing in the hospitals.
Seniors may Recover Faster
Since aged patients get one-on-one medical treatment at home, their health starts to show positive signs of recovery soon. They get medications, food, required exercise, etc., on time when they are hospitalised at their homes. Moreover, doctors also follow up on their medical reports.
Convenient for the Family Members
In case your parents have been suffering from long-term comorbid diseases, the regular visits to the hospital become challenging for the other family members. Managing hospitals, jobs and the home front simultaneously can be difficult. In such a scenario, domiciliary hospitalisation is a definite relief. Moreover, you will be more relaxed when you see your parents get the required treatment in front of your eyes.
Things to Keep in Mind While Taking Domiciliary Hospitalisation
With Care Health Insurance, you can help your parents get the best possible care at home. Most of the health insurance plans offered by Care Health Insurance come with the domiciliary hospitalisation feature. However, at the same time, you need to understand that coverage features may differ from plan to plan. It is, therefore, crucial to review the policy details, including what treatments are covered, what is not covered, and the claim process for domiciliary hospitalisation.
Check out the following pointers that you should keep in mind while taking domiciliary hospitalisation:
- Domiciliary hospitalisation should be for at least 3 days.
- You can’t apply for the mediclaim that exceeds the limit of the sum insured for the domiciliary hospitalisation.
- Domiciliary claim means reimbursement claim. You are not eligible for a cashless facility.
- You have to serve the waiting period to avail the benefits of domiciliary hospitalisation. The waiting period can be different for pre-existing diseases.
- You should keep the medical history, bills, and other things related to domiciliary expenses for easy reimbursement claim settlement.
- Self-injury, alcohol/drug abuse, suicidal attempts, and external congenital diseases are not covered under domiciliary hospitalisation coverage.
Health Insurance: Gateway to Empower Senior Care with Domiciliary Hospitalisation
As we navigate the complexities of senior healthcare, having the right financial safeguards in place is essential. Domiciliary hospitalisation provides a compassionate solution, bridging the gap between hospital-level medical supervision and the familiar, comforting environment of home. By integrating this feature into your health insurance plan for senior citizens, you can better cope with medical inflation. Besides, this ensures that your family can focus entirely on recovery, knowing they have the specialised care they need when they need it most.
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Disclaimer: Verifying the policy details and coverage with the official policy documents is essential. Also, kindly consult a medical professional to verify the details of your health concerns.
