ViiV launches digital triage service for HIV patients with London hospital

ViiV Healthcare and London’s Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust have launched a digital triage service for HIV patients supported by a mobile app.

ViiV, a joint venture majority owned by GlaxoSmithKline, with Pfizer and Shionogi as minority shareholders, has been working with Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust on the service.

The new service is being gradually launched to patients at the hospital’s Kobler Outpatient Clinic, one of the largest centres of HIV care in Europe.

It is then planned to expand to larger patient populations across multiple sites at the trust in the coming months.

The organisations have already run a pilot scheme through a joint working agreement, which were presented at last year’s British HIV Association Annual Congress, showing high levels of patient satisfaction and quality of care.

The service known as Klick has also been designed to respond to the current demands on HIV healthcare services brought by the COVID-19 pandemic allowing outpatient clinics to rapidly evaluate clinical needs, provide access to care remotely and communicate effectively with patients.

Design and implementation have been led by a project team comprising individuals from ViiV Healthcare’s innovation team, along with clinical and non-clinical staff from the Kobler Clinic.

The service has been designed with a focus on ensuring digital solutions can integrate with and enhance the service model, whilst delivering a positive experience for patients.

Dr David Asboe, Clinical Director for HIV at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We have made significant advances in the care of people living with HIV, but this work is not finished.

“In many regards, it has just begun. Our combined efforts have shifted HIV from an acute to a predominantly long-term condition.

“It is our duty to understand the emerging needs of our patient cohort, to design care that is responsive to these needs, and to provide care in a sustainable fashion.

“We must achieve these things with a backdrop of the challenges we now also face with COVID-19.

“The collaboration between the Trust and ViiV Healthcare has provided an opportunity to produce an evidence-based and practical service concept that provides a strong platform on which we can build.”