© Todd Brown
The other week I wrote about a man who was cured of hepatitis C by direct-acting anti-viral drugs (DAAs). MSF has seen a 97.6% cure rate among patients who have finished treatment so far, which aligns well with results reported in medical research on the subject.
One important factor in achieving a successful cure is ensuring patients take their DAAs regularly. When a patient embarks upon a course of DAAs at our clinic, our nurse counselors provide detailed education on when to take the medicines and what to do in case of missed doses.
What I find remarkable are the strategies the patients themselves have devised to remember to take their DAAs. One woman sets not one but three alarms for each day’s dose. The first alarm reminds her to take the pill out of the bottle, the second reminds her to pour a glass of water, and the third reminds her to swallow the pill with plenty of fluid:
Waiting for alarm #3. Photo: Theresa Chan / MSF.
Another man created his own medicine-reminder spreadsheet--in Khmer:
Why aren't my taxes as organized as this man's medication reminder sheet? Photo: Theresa Chan / MSF.
In fact, our patients are so disciplined about taking their DAAs that I almost never hear them report a missed dose. (Believe me, I ask at every clinic visit.) Sometimes I get the shocking confession that someone has taken one or two doses ten minutes later than the scheduled time!
Overall, the compliance rate among our patients is greater than 99%, which goes a long way towards explaining our current record of treatment success. No medicine is effective unless it is taken regularly.
