How to choose elder care for parents in India: 10 questions to ask

Ten questions that separate reliable elder-care help from brochures — about response times, languages, consent, pricing and data privacy.

By the Athnova Care team · Updated 2026-09-29

Want to see the daily check-in before you read on? Send DEMO to our WhatsApp and the exact message a parent gets arrives on your phone — in any of 21 languages, no account needed.

Why questions beat brochures

Every elder-care website promises peace of mind. The differences appear when you ask what happens on an ordinary Tuesday, and on the worst night of the year. Ask every provider the same ten questions — including us — and write the answers down.

The ten questions

What exactly happens if my parent does not respond today, and within how many minutes or hours?
Who contacts my parent, and in which language?
Do you have your own people in my parent’s city, or partners?
How are prices shown before anything is booked?
Can my siblings get the same alerts?
How does my parent give consent, and how do they stop?
Where is health data stored, and who can see it?
Do you diagnose or give medical advice? (A good coordinator says no, and refers to doctors.)
What is included in the monthly price, and what is extra?
How do I cancel?

Good signs

Specific answers with numbers: "within three hours", "two call attempts".
A way for your parent to say no.
Prices on the website.
A clear statement of what they do not do.

Warning signs

"It depends" to every question.
Long lock-in periods or large deposits.
Medical advice from people who are not doctors.
Pressure to decide today.

Try before you commit

Ask for a trial period or a monthly plan before a yearly one.
Ask for two families you can speak to — in your parent’s city.
During the trial, test the promise: ask what happened on a day your parent did not respond.
Ask your parent what they think. They are the customer who matters.

Athnova Care’s answers

No reply: a reminder after about three hours, then phone calls in their language, then an alert to the family, then to your local contacts.
21 languages for messages and calls: ten Indian, plus Urdu, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, French, Filipino, Indonesian, German, Italian, Turkish and Romanian.
No staff of our own at the door; we rely on the local contacts you nominate.
You approve every price before anything is ordered.
Up to four family members share one plan.
Your parent agrees on WhatsApp first and can reply STOP at any time.
Data is stored in India; sensitive fields are encrypted; we do not sell data.
We do not diagnose or advise on doses.
$12 a month; tests, medicines and consultations are paid to the provider at their price.
Cancel in the app, in two taps.

Questions families ask

What should I ask an elder care service before signing up?

What happens when your parent does not respond, who contacts them and in which language, what is included in the price, how consent works and how to cancel.

Should an elder care service give medical advice?

No. A coordinator should track, remind and arrange, and leave diagnosis and treatment to doctors.

Is a longer contract cheaper?

Often, but only commit for a year once a month or two has shown that the service does what it says.

Athnova Care tracks and coordinates care. It does not diagnose, prescribe or replace a doctor. In a medical emergency in India call 112.