Patients who are HIV positive can now find out how easy it will be to stick to their drug treatment regime using a new internet service.
"The Wheel", launched on June 1, forms part of an existing website developed by NAM Publications, a charity that provides information on HIV and AIDS to patients and health care professionals.
Patients feed information about their drug treatment and daily routine into a flow diagram and "The Wheel" draws a personalised pie chart showing the times when they should take each medicine, together with reminders to take their tablets with food, where necessary.
"These regimes are hard to stick to and that is where ‘The Wheel' comes into its own. It answers one vitally important question - can I live with this drug regime on a day-to-day basis?" says Mr Colin Nee (director, NAM Publications).
The information fed into the website and the resulting chart (both of which are confidential) give people a clearer understanding of the challenges that drug treatment can pose, according to NAM Publications. Another feature of the site is that it shows photographs of the different formulations of anti-HIV drugs, together with recommended dosing frequencies.
"The Wheel" is intended to be used by patients with their doctors to help decide on the best regime for them, given the patient's lifestyle.
Adherence is one of the greatest problems for patients with HIV and failure to take medicines can lead to resistance and treatment failure, says NAM Publications.
"The Wheel" can be found on the NAM Publications website (www.aidsmap.com).
The picture shows an example of a personalised "Wheel", print outs of which include a written explanation of what to take and when.