This study evaluates a project led by On Cue, a small company based in Cape Town, South Africa, which sends SMS messages to patients via mobile telephones, reminding them to take their tuberculosis (TB) medication at pre-determined times. This service aims to provide an affordable solution to improve patient adherence to TB treatment and reduce the associated costs of the directly observed therapy system for both patients and clinics. This report presents the lessons learned so far, as well as other uses of cellular technology in the healthcare sector.

The bridges.org IICD Case Study Series on ICT-Enabled Development sets out to illustrate how information and communication technology (ICT) contributes to development in Africa. The aim of this series is to help ground level initiatives imagine the possibilities of what can happen if they use ICT successfully to overcome development obstacles, and to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the digital divide.

I. Overview

Initiative: Dr. David Green's Compliance Service uses the Short Message Service (SMS) to alert tuberculosis (TB) patients to take their medication. The initiative has led to a significant increase in the recovery rate of patients and could lead to savings for healthcare authorities.