HIV and Wellness Screening Being Made Accessible by Healthcare Framework EMR Software

JOHANNESBURG, June 23, 2021 (Newswire.com) - South Africa is currently facing the biggest HIV epidemic in the world, with an estimated 7.7 million people living with HIV. In recent years, the country has made huge improvements in getting people to undergo screening. As per UNAIDS Data 2020, South Africa has now met the first of the 90-90-90 targets, with 90% of people living with HIV aware of their status in 2018. Large-scale HIV screening programmes play a very important role in finding positive cases and referring the persons for treatment and follow-up. SABCOHA (South African Business Coalition on Health and AIDS) is currently conducting an ongoing Wellness and HIV screening initiative on selected groups and areas across the country as part of funded prevalence studies by The Global Fund.

Participants undergo HIV testing and counselling, together with screening for hypertension and diabetes. They also complete a Tuberculosis cough questionnaire, which assists as a screening tool to refer patients for further TB testing to confirm their results, should the questionnaire answers indicate a higher probability of being infected. Questionnaires, history, and examination results are captured on-site in real time using Lynx-HCF, a comprehensive cloud-based software solution. All data related to the examination and special POC tests (HIV and Glucose) are captured in the software application using a mobile device, such as a tablet, smartphone, or a web application.

All information is stored in the EMR and is accessible by users in different roles with varying access and control levels. Comprehensive reporting and statistical analyses are provided to clients and funders, as all information is digitally captured and hosted in the cloud. Screening is taking place in selected areas all over South Africa, and to date, 150 000 people have undergone HIV and Wellness screenings, with many more over the coming months.

"With accessibility to healthcare technology being limited in underserved communities, we decided to develop an application which can accurately and easily capture information whilst in the field. The world is moving away from paper, and we are excited to be part of the journey", says Dr Gerhard Ferreira, CEO of Healthcare Framework.

To find out more about this initiative, visit www.healthcf.com.

Source: Healthcare Framework