PATIENT IDENTIFICATION CHALLENGE; UGANDA
PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED
TextDirect will introduce an automated system that sends mobile phone text messages reminders to patients.
Learn more about the Patient Identification Challenge and why identifying individuals in need of treatment suffering from health conditions such as obstetric fistula, cervical cancer, club foot, and cataracts which can be corrected with cost-effective interventions, could save lives.
DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION
Low adherence to antimalarial therapy jeopardizes the efficacy of treatment, leading to loss of productivity, higher mortality, and spread of the disease. By creating a mobile phone system through which health workers can register their patients for free reminders, we can scale this technology to clinics around the country.
The project will operate in Uganda, the country with the third-highest malaria morality rate in the world, and will target patients receiving Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT) which the World Health Organization recommends as the most effective treatment for malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although the course of medication is fairly straightforward (typically three to four pills for three days), many patients fail to follow through due to perceived cure after the first dose. Inadequate use of ACT means that patients remain infected, increasing the risk of transmission to others while contributing to the appearance of drug resistant strains.
Setting up the project will consist of two main phases: establishing the text message system and operationalizing the program. TextDirect will activate a toll-free number, set up a database with two primary tables (health workers and patients), collect contact and medical information of malaria patients, and disseminate short text reminders to patients at the time when they are supposed to take their ACT dosage. Health workers will be incentivized with phone credit to sign up patients.
PILOT AND SCALING GOALS
- Grow from 15 to 45 participating health workers during the 3 months of the pilot
- Increase the number of patients receiving text massages from 150 to 1,150 during the pilot
- By year 1, over 84,000 patients will receive text messages and 324 health workers will sign up new patients
FOUNDING TEAM
Shashank Iyer - Executive Director
Nitsan Shakked - Chief Operating Officer
Anudeep Yegireddi - Chief Technology Officer
Siago Sanfelice - Chief Financial Officer