Improving the quality of life of patients requires an overhaul of the continuum of care. As a leading home healthcare provider, this is our conviction. Doing so requires putting the benefits expected by our patients first and measuring them. Air Liquide, in partnership with healthcare professionals, is coordinating an approach which favors personalized support programs for patients in their homes. This approach has reached a new level with the health crisis.
Taking action with patients and doctors to contribute to healthcare advances, this is
Air Liquide’s ambition. For several years, the Group has been developing innovative patientcentric solutions, which improve their therapeutic follow-up and quality of life.
This momentum has been driven by major trends: an aging population, greater demand for home healthcare and the development of digital technology which is revolutionizing medicine. Three trends, confirmed by the health crisis, that have transformed the world of healthcare and the lives of millions of people. The Covid-19 pandemic has, indeed, reinforced the need for a more personalized approach to patient care for those suffering from chronic diseases that are treated at home (respiratory failure, sleep apnea, diabetes, Parkinson's disease). The crisis thus contributed to developing outpatient care(1).
The Group, faced with the urgencyof the situation (see p.08-13), wasinstantly mobilized to face thehealthcare challenges. “To assistpatients suffering from Covid-19 or other chronic illnesses andto reduce the load on hospitals,we have introduced new solutionsincluding flexible protocols,digital monitoring tools, remoteconsultations, coordinating careand multidisciplinary teamwork,”explains Dolores Paredes, Headof Markets, Strategy and Innovationat Air Liquide’s Healthcarebusiness line. In France, forexample, Air Liquide and AP-HP(2) have introduced a new solution:remote monitoring, via a mobile application, of Covid-19 patients receiving oxygen therapy in their homes after being discharged from the hospital. “Patients have emerged from this crisis with a greater role to play in their own healthcare. This is a trend that we wish to accelerate and support,” analyzes Dolores.
The Group’s strength to sustain this momentum is the presence of specialized teams, in close proximity to their patients at home. These teams are the best placed to be able to offer personalized care, which contributes to the improvement of patients’ therapeutic follow-up and quality of life.
“This continuous dialogue with patients confirms the idea that a new approach to healthcare in which they have their place in the decisionmaking process is essential,” continues Dolores Paredes. “The question is no longer only how many treatments are required but also to discuss with doctors what is most important in the patient’s view.
Do they want to return home soon to be with their loved ones? Receive support regarding continuing long-term treatment? Have more contact with health professionals?
Our strategy is to develop an approach to healthcare which is based on the results that are important to the patient, balanced against the cost of achieving them.”
In practical terms, this requires a holistic continuum of care which combines a close relationship with patients in their homes with multidisciplinary teams (doctors, nurses, technicians, etc.) and digital innovations that can continuously assess benefits for the patients.
(1) Change in the health system aimed at better coordinating interventions by the medical sector, hospital-based medicine and home healthcare across each stage of a patient’s continuum of care. This change relies, in particular, on care protocols for patients outside of the traditional framework of full hospitalization.
(2) Assistance publique – Hôpitaux de Paris: French public healthcare institutions.
