MediRemind addresses a critical healthcare challenge in rural Kenya — medication non-adherence — by delivering intelligent, personalised reminders via SMS and WhatsApp, with no smartphone or internet connection required on the patient's side.
Medication non-adherence is a major public health challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly for patients managing chronic conditions such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, hypertension, and diabetes. In rural areas, health workers have no reliable mechanism to follow up with patients between appointments.
MediRemind allows healthcare workers at clinics and community health units to register patients, enter their prescription schedule, and set up automated reminders. Patients receive SMS or WhatsApp messages at the precise times they need to take their medication, with simple reply codes to confirm ('1' for taken, '2' for missed) that log adherence data for clinical review.
The system includes a healthcare worker dashboard showing adherence rates per patient and per ward, flagging patients who have missed multiple doses for priority follow-up. Aggregate anonymised statistics support community health reporting.
MediRemind was developed in collaboration with a community health unit in Hamisi Sub-County as part of the student's final-year research project. A pilot with 47 patients over three months showed a statistically significant improvement in medication adherence compared to the control group.