KareMitras – Karkinos’ relentless care navigators by your side

The disease of cancer is complex to endure with requiring a lot of understanding on what it is all about. Several queries like how this disease affects the cells, tissues, and organs of the human body; how it spreads to other organs; what treatment should be taken; at what intervals should a patient visit a physician; when to have a follow-up scheduled with the treating oncologist require precise answers that can lead a citizen/patient to adopting the correct steps and treatment practices for positive outcomes.

It is possible that a cancer patient loses hope and lands in utter despair when he/she has no access to the right information on how to deal with cancer. For a successful treatment outcome, it is important that the healthcare management system communicates well with the citizen/patient in the language that one can comprehend easily and more importantly be assured and satisfied on the modalities of care. Many times, the patient and the family members in a hospital environment are lost either because of their ignorance of the procedures or they are overwhelmed by the information overload or are in ambiguity about the right approach to receiving treatment.

In recent years, hospitals and the healthcare system have woken up to the need for Patient Navigators, who can establish a connect between the patient, the patient’s family and the hospital system. In short, Patient Navigators are qualified social healthcare workers who provide individual guidance to patients as they move through the healthcare system seeking its services.

The vision and mission of Karkinos Healthcare mandates a patient-centric approach to cancer care. And, as a first step to the patient care, our care or patient navigators, called KareMitras, offer an empathetic support, just like a Mitr or a best friend, to every single citizen/patient to go through the steps of Karkinos Healthcare’s end-to-end wellness and cancer care services in a seamless, comfortable, and informed manner.

The goals of care for KareMitras are carefully designed by all the stakeholders of Karkinos Healthcare to ensure that the barriers between the health system and the patient are eliminated or reduced to improve access to care.

With a focused approach, KareMitras of Karkinos Healthcare:
1. Enable the citizen/patient to receive appropriate information pertaining to the various general wellness and cancer screening programs;
2. Understanding high-risk population groups and organizing screening and outreach programs at such locations
3. Educate the citizen/patient on the importance of screening programs in one’s life and advise the need for early interventions and cost-effective treatment plans;
4. Spread the message on the importance of cancer and other lifestyle disorder prevention;
5. Remove the underlying fear in a citizen/patient to undertake diagnostic procedures;
6. Lead the citizen, when cancer is suspected or detected, to the next steps in cancer care;
7. Engage with the patients and their families to outline the care pathway;
8. Record all primary, vital citizen/patient information in the Electronic Health Record System of Karkinos Healthcare;
9. Outline and explain to the patient the diagnostic procedures and the next course of action in treatment;
10. Establish a strong communication channel between the treating physician, hospital staff and the patient;
11. Ensure the patient undergoing chemotherapy at day care centers is made comfortable;
12. Update patient health data in Karkinos Healthcare’s command center to help patient find Apex centers for advanced treatment options;
13. Work in sync with the tumor board and carry out their instructions to help improve the patient’s Quality of Life;
14. Regularly collect patient feedback to improve the quality of care at Karkinos Healthcare;
15. Offer moral consolation and psychosocial counselling to advanced stage cancer patients;
16. Schedule and remind follow-up care for patients to stay in the care continuum plan.,