• Enroll patients in treatment readiness programs that teach patients specific information related to HIV, including providing patients with tools to help them keep appointments and take their medications.
• Develop a triage system that categorizes patients by their degree of adherence. One health center is using colors to represent variation in need for assistance. The team provides more assistance to the patients most in need of it, with the intent of moving them to a more independent status.
• Develop materials that are low-cost, culture- and language-specific, and are appropriate for literacy level to engage patients. Topics can range from explaining the purpose of lab tests to tips about adherence, treatment options, transmission of HIV, importance of partner notification, and social and emotional concerns.
• Educate patients on how to keep a diary that holds pertinent information. Help them learn how to read a graph and how to plot one. For example, tracking CD4 lab results on a graph, or a schedule to take medications and to pick them up. Review the diary with patients at each visit.

• Discuss problems (adherence difficulties, missed appointments) with patients and let them outline their next steps/plan to keep their appointments or consistently take their medications.
• Share graphs that plot the CD4 count and viral load with the patient.
• Form support groups for patients to share successes and challenges of ARV therapy.
• Encourage patients to use a computer at the clinic reserved for patients to access information. Teach basic computer skills to patients if needed.
• Educate members of the Board and Consumer Advisory Board on how to understand lab results, how medication can help or resist suppression of the HIV virus, and effects of inconsistent adherence to treatment regimen.
• Share quality reports related to adherence with members of the Board and Consumer Advisory Board.

Promoting Adherence to HIV Antiretroviral Therapy

Making Sure Your HIV Care Is the Best It Can Be: A Consumer Training Workshop Guide in the Use of HIV Clinical Care Performance Data

My Shared Care Plan