After noticing a gap between HIV health care workers’ theoretical training and practice in the field, FHS MBChB graduate Dr Musaed Abrahams, founder of Aviro Health, decided to do something about it. 

Starting with just an idea, he gathered a team of collaborators who, through a process spanning three years, developed an HIV mentor application that health care workers can easily consult for proper antiretroviral treatment during patient visits. Designed by expert HIV clinicians, the Aviro Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) Mentor application (app) leverages mobile technology to simplify the initiation and management of patients on ART. In 2013, the South African Department of Health launched its “Getting to Zero” goals to increase ARV treatment coverage in the country. Achieving these goals has meant an increase of task-shifting to nurses, in already overburdened health sectors. 

“AVIRO contributes to the strengthening of the public and private health sectors’ capacity to deliver high quality integrated health and wellness services. Built with nurses and patients in mind, the app provides real-time, immediate feedback and guidance for the clinician, so that excellent and reliable care is delivered to every patient” says Dr Abrahams. 

Along with providing decision-making support, the app enables access to expert advice with the click of a button. If faced with a complex patient, health care workers can send an sms to the HIV hotline where they can ask questions to overcome challenging cases. So far 1800 users have downloaded the app and the feedback has been positive, says Dr Abrahams. The ART Mentor app is available for both iOS and Android systems. 

To find out more about the application visit www.avirohealth.com