The Southern African Development Community (SADC) will launch the integrated electronic Standard Treatment Guidelines Application (STG App) for HIV and AIDS. The App which will be launched on 8th May 2024 in Maseru, the Kingdom of Lesotho, is designed to optimise treatment outcomes and improve regulatory and supply chain processes in Malawi and Lesotho.
The application was developed by Mitch Investments with a grant from the European Union (EU) through SADC under the Support to Industrialization and Productive Sectors (SIPS) Project.
The Electronic Standard Treatment Guidelines will bring convenience to health care workers by improving ease of access to information. The application offers several advantages. First, it brings more consistency in practice to the patients, resulting in better treatment efficacy. Secondly, it will empower service providers to provide the quality-of-care standard as it is based on expert consensus and form the basis for monitoring. Thirdly, supply chain managers will be capacitated with a standardized regimen which makes it easier to manage stocks and allows for pre-packaging of patient medicine packs. Fourthly, it allows health policy makers to focus on therapeutic integration of special programs and promotion of efficient use of funds.
Furthermore, in the case of HIV and AIDS, the STG App will help to facilitate electronic updates of standard treatment guidelines as scientific advances are made, making it useful to have them in an electronic format rather that hard copies which are rendered obsolete as soon as new updated guidelines are in place. Once fully implemented, the STG App will significantly cut down printing costs and reduce the negative environmental impacts of using large amounts of printed paper, in addition to offering convenience and ease of access to healthcare information for providers at an affordable cost. Most importantly, the App will provide convenience to health care practitioners and patients by allowing for ease of information exchange resulting in improved clinical, supply chain and regulatory outcomes.
The development of the STG App involved a collaborative approach, engaging stakeholders such as Ministries of Health, the Digital Health Departments, academia, pharmaceutical regulatory bodies, health workers and implementing partners.
