Swipe smart card, get HIV medicine anywhere in India

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Swipe smart card, get medicine anywhere in India

Neha Bhayana, Hindustan Times

Mumbai, June 22, 2010. People with HIV/AIDS will soon be able to go out of town

without worrying about missing their appointments for treatment at

Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) centres.

Within three months, the National AIDS Control Organisation plans to issue smart

cards to 3.22 lakh patients who are on ART.

This will enable them to go to any NACO-run centre in India. With a simple swipe

of the smart card, the doctor at the centre will be able to view the patient's

complete medical and treatment history so he or she can give the accurate dose

of medicines.

" This will benefit all patients, especially migrants and mobile population, who

find it difficult to stick to the treatment plan. We hope to improve drug

adherence, so there are fewer cases of resistance, " said Dr Damodar Bachani,

Deputy Director General at NACO.

Even if a HIV patient delays taking the ART medication for three days, he or she

is at risk of developing resistance to the drugs, said Dr S.S. Kudalkar from

Mumbai District AIDS Control Society.

Around 15,000 HIV patients in Mumbai are currently on ART.

NACO has already started a pilot test of the smart card software at Ram Manohar

Lohia Hospital in Delhi.

" The plan has been worked out. We should be able to start issuing the smart

cards after the pilot, " said Dr Bachani.

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