Maninder Singh works with an MNC in Pune and lives with his spouse, a 3-year-old son, and elderly parents. He recently bought a 3BHK and has been paying the EMIs consistently. While he was in his office one day, he received a call from his wife saying that his father is experiencing pain in his chest after he came back from his walk. Maninder did not waste any time and immediately rushed his father to the nearest hospital. Since they took him to the hospital quickly, his father could get the best possible treatment and survived the cardiac arrest. However, Maninder had to pay high medical bills because of which he would be cutting off on many things for the rest of the month.
This is just not Maninder’s but many of our stories. And for a family where only one member earns the bread and butter, it becomes quite challenging to come across one such emergency. If you too are someone like Maninder, you should better buy a health insurance policy before you have to pay the medical bills from your pockets.
Well, when we decide to buy a health insurance policy, taking the call is not that easy. The market is flooded with various types of health insurance policies and it is very confusing for anyone to choose a particular policy. And if you or any of your family members have a certain kind of illness due to which doctor consultation is often required, then the confusion gets even bigger. People who have diabetes, asthma, sinusitis, or any other health conditions like these, should take an OPD cover along with a health insurance policy.
Now as we talk about an OPD cover, many can confuse it with daycare treatment. Seldom do people realize that these two are different. So, today let us quickly talk about OPD treatment vs daycare treatment here.
What is OPD treatment?
OPD, Outpatient Department is where a patient does not need to be hospitalized. As you opt for OPD treatment, you mostly visit the doctor for consultation or avail of a particular treatment for which you do not need to be hospitalized at all. The treatment does not need a team of medical practitioners and can be carried out by a doctor. A health insurance policy that provides coverage for OPD includes consultation with the doctor, pathological tests and investigations.
What is a Day Care treatment?
Day care treatment, also called daycare procedure is a technically advanced treatment that does not need a lot of time and can be done in just a few hours. When you are undergoing a day care procedure, you do not need to stay at the hospital for a long time. However, to avail of the day care treatment coverage, hospitalization is required at least for a few hours or lesser than 24 hours. Some of the day care procedures are dialysis, chemotherapy, cataract surgery, tonsillectomy, dental surgery (result of an accident), etc.
OPD treatment and day care treatment sounds much similar but the actual difference is the hospitalization part. In an OPD treatment, there is no need for hospitalization at all; however, in the case of day care treatment, you have to be hospitalized for less than 24 hours. Day care treatment is usually covered under most of the health insurance policies but OPD treatment is not. If you want to get coverage for OPD treatment too, you can even buy an add-on cover.
You can visit the IIFL website to find several options for OPD add-ons. You can also come across various other health insurance policies which can save you from the skyrocketing hospital bills.
