• An initiative to help any district administration prepare for and combat the surge in COVID-19cases
• The playbook demonstrates how supervised home-based care models can help bring limited healthcareresources together to lower the burden on healthcare systems
• By ‘extending the medical ward’ the playbook aims to address the immediate crisis and the long-term health equity challenge

Deloitte today announced it is making available a playbook,to help district administrations address the rising threat of the Omicron COVID variant. Theprotocols outlined in the playbook can enable governments to quickly scale the health care support and resources required to address surges in COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) cases. This‘plug and play’ modelrecommendssupervised home-based carethat communities can easily adopt to assist those who are medically able to recover at home.

The playbook builds upon thelearningsgained from NitiAayog, “SanjeevaniPariyojana”, a supervised, virtual home care initiative launched inKarnal, Haryana, India in May 2021 as well as Deloitte’s experience in South Africa.During the peak of the second wave, the Government of Haryana and Deloitte initiative had helpedthe people of Karnal quickly access healthcare at home, effectively bringing the fatality rate down by 50 percent. Over 90 percent patients were treated at home or at isolation centres,which helped reduce the pressure on the district hospital, thereby preserving beds for the critically ill.After its success in India, the “SanjeevaniPariyojana”initiative was also adopted in South Africa and Southeast Asia.

The playbookdesigned and supported by Deloitte, the Public Health Foundation of India (Dr. K. Srinath Reddy), and the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Haryana (Dr. Dhruva Chaudhry),highlights the importance of collective digital and human interventions.

“The Deloitte playbook helps bring supervised healthcare to people at home, thereby ‘extending the medical ward.’ When implemented, it brings much needed medical care and resources to rural, under-served and hard to reach communities,” said Punit Renjen, Deloitte Global CEO. He added, “This ‘fit-for-purpose’ approach will yield a model that enables broader health equity with access to critical health resources. I am convinced that wider adoption of the model will address a long-termhealthcare challenges at reduced costs.This is true for India and the world.”

This home-based care model is a five-point initiative which is able todeliver:

1. Integrated Command and Control Centre supplemented by tracking systems and digital facilities. It will provide real-time situational analysis, manage prevention and detection measures in addition to the management of scarce resources such as beds, oxygen, and medical professionals.

• Virtual Health, a tele-health monitoring system,to support citizenswithany potential escalations after exhibiting symptoms.  It is managed by carefully selected, extensively trained, and clinically supervised volunteers who operate under a strict protocol for identifying symptoms, monitoring patients in home isolation, and referring licensed doctors to the patients in need.

• Tiered Medical Infrastructure to enable effective utilisation of all tiers, starting from frontline health workers to tertiary care hospitals in an equitable and effective manner in the event of a pandemic surge.

• Outreach, Communication, and Education to empower people with the right information at the right time through the right medium and a message that prompts positive action.

• Scale and replication of best practices and lessons learnt across geographies to manage emerging health priorities.

As is true with many nations, access to health care is often determined by the ability to pay for services and the proximity to healthcare infrastructure. The Deloitte playbook has been used to drive new models of public health engagement and collaboration—especially connecting withpatients more quickly and empowering public health workers to collaborate with clinicians in new ways to deliver critical medical care.

Notes to the editor for reference purposes only

This press release has been issued by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP.

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee (“DTTL”), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as “Deloitte Global”) does not provide services to clients.