Bridging the Gap: Engagement in Care through an Innovative Online Tool

Background: Georgia’s Care and Prevention in the United States (CAPUS) Demonstration Project implemented an online resource tool to address the social and structural determinants of health for HIV positive and high risk racial and ethnic minority populations. One component of this online resource tool, the Ryan White Pre-eligibility Portal, was created to connect clients in need of care to Ryan White Coordinators in their geographical area.

Methods: In September 2014, Georgia CAPUS developed an online tool to assess pre-eligibility for Ryan White services for HIV positive individuals throughout the state. Using the Ryan White Pre-eligibility Portal to facilitate timely linkage to care, clients completed a pre-eligibility questionnaire and provided consent for follow-up. Private resource management alerts sent to the Ryan White Coordinators based on the client’s zip code facilitated immediate client follow-up for services.

Results: Data collected from October 1, 2014 to March 31, 2016 using Google Analytics showed a total of 60,838 page views of the Georgia CAPUS website. The Ryan White Pre-eligibility Portal received a total of 5,108 views with an average time spent completing the eligibility form at 1.47 minutes. The Pre-eligibility Portal received 506 clients interested in Ryan White services and of those, 464 completed the pre-eligibility questions, 123 were deemed not pre-eligible for services, 341 met the pre-eligibility criteria and 142 consented to be contacted for follow-up.

Conclusions: This tool has the potential to remove common barriers to better connect clients in need of service to resources and coordinators within their geographical area. The online tool promotes use of a private system to streamline eligibility determination while equipping clients and coordinators with information to facilitate support on a local level. This helps to enhance the linkage to care landscape in Georgia and improve client outcomes through local navigation to services and resources.