admin
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
THE Ministry of Health and Child Care says a health tracking application developed for patients on Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) is a step in the right direction in a quest to ensure people adhere to their medication.
The application called MyTherapyapp can be downloaded online for free. The director Aids and TB Unit in the Ministry, Dr Owen Mugurungi said the application will ensure that patients do not forget to take their medication.
“The intention is to remind people on ART about their health such as taking drugs on time, getting a CD4 count or getting a viral load test together with other important health information,” he said.
The application, he said, works by giving reminders to the patient about important aspects of their health.
“Chief among these is the fact that you are reminded when your drugs will run out and that you now have to collect in a few days. You also feed the application on the days you would have done CD4 count or viral load test then you are constantly in the loop of your medical needs,” he said.
Dr Mugurungi said the application was essential in that there have been challenges with adherence to medication as some people will forget to do certain procedures or tests. Failing to adhere to medication such as ARVs has resulted in drug resistance where in some cases people on ART have to be moved to the second line of medication which is expensive.
Guidelines on ARVs say that the life prolonging drugs must be taken every day at the same time so that they can be effective. If this if followed religiously ensures the virus does not duplicate.
Other features that come with the application include an option to load blood pressure, blood sugar, weight, heart rate just to name a few.
derick.khumalo