It is a combination of palliative care and internet connectivity to provide succour to cancer patients in their own households.
The innovative method of the Malabar Cancer Centre (MCC) at Thalassery to give palliative care to cancer patients in the region is now being presented as a practical way of utilising limited number of healthcare personnel for the care of large number of cancer patients in terminal stages.
The e-palliative care initiative of the MCC was originally envisaged as a collaborative project involving local palliative care voluntary groups as the number of patients requiring palliative care increased.
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The idea then evolved into an independent project of the MCC to help terminally ill cancer patients who are bed-ridden in their houses.
Started in 2012-13, it is now a full-fledged system that offers palliative care to 48 patients a month. The team of palliative wing of the MCC headed by Dr. Biji M.S. is using the software developed by the Health IT Department of the MCC and the Centre for Development of Imaging Technology (C-DIT). “As the number of patients has grown, it has become difficult for me to personally visit the patients’ homes to offer them relief,” said Dr. Biji.
Patients are not fully satisfied when the doctor is not present to offer them treatment, she said.
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The idea of e-palliative was conceived to overcome the constraints, she said. The e-palliative initiative includes the service of a team of health assistants with a laptop having the software that allows Dr. Biji to see the patients live online.
The patient can also interact with her online. Dr. Biji said that she conducted a study of 30 patients to know whether the patients are satisfied with the initiative. A scale of one to five was used with five representing utmost satisfaction.
The average score that the study elicited was 4.6, she said. The innovative palliative care was also appreciated as a model at an international conference of oncologists in Pune in February, she noted. The Palliative Care Department of the MCC has been provided a vehicle by Bharat Scouts and Guides.
That also ensures the team visiting households carry equipment.