EGPAF & Baylor College of Medicine: CommCare for HIV Patient Tracking and Appointment Reminders

Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) and Dimagi collaborated in Lesotho to develop a CommCare patient tracking mobile solution to track patients' clinic appointments, send automated SMS reminders of clinic appointment date, facilitate patient tracking, and report on chosen outcomes as part of a comprehensive HIV, TB prevention, and maternal and child healthcare (MCH) and treatment program. The overall aim of the project, which was later supported in two additional districts by a team at Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation – Lesotho, was to reduce missed appointments and the number of patients that are Lost to Follow Up (LTFU), especially those in the target population of pregnant women who are receiving ART (Antiretroviral Therapy).

The program aimed to reduce the number of patients in HIV, TB, and MCH programs missing their health facility appointments by sending personalized, confidential SMS appointment reminder messages to patients, and reducing the time and effort for health facility and client tracking workers to follow-up on patients, providing cleaner, more efficient ways of following up on those patients who miss appointments.