About QuickRes

QuickRes Client Terms of Use

QuickRes allows any member of the public to find and book appointments for a range of health services in their country. Booked appointments are shared with Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, a Division of Wits Health Consortium (Pty) Ltd, relevant service providers and client support staff who may assist clients to attend their appointments and document the health services provided to clients who had booked on QuickRes.

QuickRes (available at www.quickres.org) uses the Online Reservation and Case Management App (ORA) software developed by FHI 360 with funding provided by USAID and PEPFAR. QuickRes is available in several countries and languages. QuickRes is operated by FHI 360 – an international non-profit working to improve the health and well-being of people in the United States and around the world. FHI 360 and Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, a Division of Wits Health Consortium (Pty) Ltd are considered the “controllers” of QuickRes in South Africa (available at https://quickres.org/027)

We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We collect and process your personally identifying information (PII) in accordance with national and local laws. We continually try to minimize the amount of private data that we collect. All clients who use QuickRes indicate that they have read, understand, and agree to these Terms of Use. Our Terms of Use explain what client data is collected on QuickRes, why we collect this information, and how it is processed securely.

Contents:

  1. Key terms
  2. How do we collect your personal information?
  3. What kind of information do we collect and how do we use your information?
  4. How is your information shared?
  5. How do we protect and secure your information?
  6. What kind of communication will you receive from QuickRes?
  7. How can I edit my edit my communication preferences and opt-out of QuickRes’ communications?
  8. How can you manage or delete your information on QuickRes?
  9. What is the minimum legal age to use QuickRes?
  10. How can you contact us?

1.     Key terms:

  • Personally Identifying Information (PII): Information that can be used to uniquely identify, distinguish or trace an individual’s identity, such as name, phone number, email address, date of birth, location data, IP address, and device ID. PII can also extend to include information that is linked or linkable to an individual such as medical information, sex, gender, and population type. PII is also referred to as “your information” in this policy. Aggregate data or individual level data that cannot be linked to an individual are not considered PII.
  • Controllers: The entity or entities which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data on QuickRes. Controllers have access to QuickRes client information. FHI 360 as the global administrator, along with Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, a Division of Wits Health Consortium (Pty) Ltd (and its employees, agents, affiliates, and contractors) are the QuickRes controllers and are referred to as “we” in this policy.
  • Clients: Any individual who uses QuickRes to book health services for themselves or for whom appointments are booked on their behalf by service providers or client support staff. Clients are also referred to as “you” in this document.
  • Service providers: Providers of health services registered on QuickRes include Psychosocial Support Counsellors hired by Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, a Division of Wits Health Consortium (Pty) Ltd. Service providers have access to view appointments booked on QuickRes at the service provider’s clinic(s) to report when clients arrive for their appointment and report services provided to clients.
  • Client support staff: Treatment Navigators hired by Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, a Division of Wits Health Consortium (Pty) Ltd. are considered the “client support staff”. Treatment Navigators manage a cohort of clients in long-term care and have access to view all appointments booked on QuickRes for clients within their cohort, including access to view and edit clinical service delivery that occurred during their appointments booked on QuickRes.

2.     How do we collect your information?

  • You directly enter your information on QuickRes when you book an appointment on QuickRes, including your name (or nickname), mobile phone number, date of birth, and the health service you want to receive during your appointment.
  • You may request assistance from service providers or your Treatment Navigator to book your appointment on QuickRes on your behalf. In this case, you may have your information entered into QuickRes by service providers or client support staff after this information is confirmed by you.
  • QuickRes automatically collects limited information when you visit QuickRes, such as your IP address, general location (city and country), time of visit, and the type of device and operating system used to access QuickRes.
  • Your assigned Treatment Navigator and the service provider where you booked your appointment may collect additional information and report it on your appointment records on QuickRes. This may include whether you arrived for your appointment and information about the health services you accessed during your appointment. Learn more about what kind of information is collected in QuickRes in the section below.

3.     What kind of information do we collect and how do we use your information?

  • Appointment information: Your name (or nickname), mobile phone number, date of birth, and the health services you want to receive are collected when you book an appointment on QuickRes (you do not need to use your full legal name). This information is used to send you reminders for your upcoming appointments and allows QuickRes to share your appointment details with the service provider where your appointment was booked and your assigned Treatment Navigator. It helps service providers and Treatment Navigators find your appointment record on QuickRes, confirm your identity and requested services, and report that you arrived for your appointment.
  • Other demographic information: Additional demographic information may also be asked when you book an appointment on QuickRes, such as sex, gender identity, and membership in some populations, which allow us to ensure all populations are served equitably.
  • Health service access information: Your service provider and Treatment Navigator may collect and report on QuickRes some information about the health services you accessed during your appointment booked on QuickRes. This may include diagnostic results, medication provided to you, your patient folder number, and custom notes and additional client contact information. This information is collected to ensure clients are provided comprehensive and quality health services and to allow Treatment Navigators to understand their client’s history of service uptake among providers on QuickRes.
  • Client feedback information: You may be offered the option to provide feedback on your appointment booked on QuickRes. This information is to understand your experience accessing services through QuickRes to improve the quality services.
  • Location information: The internet browser you use to access QuickRes may ask your permission to share your current location with QuickRes. This information is not stored on QuickRes, but is used to personalize your experience using QuickRes, including to present service providers that are nearest to your current location.
  • Cookies and other tracking information: When you visit QuickRes, the site will automatically collect some information to help us understand our site traffic, including your IP address, general location (country/city), device type, and date and time of access.
  • We do not use client data for prospective and commercial uses.

4.    How is your information shared?

  • Your appointment booked on QuickRes, and any health service access information reported on your appointment, are shared with the provider where you booked your appointment and the Treatment Navigator staff assigned to support you.
  • The service provider where you booked your appointment on QuickRes or your assigned Treatment Navigator may reassign your appointment to another service provider or Treatment Navigator on QuickRes based on your request or approval.
  • The service provider where you booked your appointment on QuickRes or your assigned Treatment Navigator may share your appointment record with another provider on QuickRes who is responsible to report specific health services on their behalf.
  • QuickRes does not share your personal information to any other database or national/government reporting system. Only aggregate and anonymous data may be shared and reported to the national government and donors, upon request.
  • Clients agreeing to the QuickRes Terms of Use provide their consent to having their information transferred outside of South Africa to QuickRes’ secure cloud server where the QuickRes controllers have access to your information to provide management support to service providers and Treatment Navigators. This includes program staff at Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, a Division of Wits Health Consortium (Pty) Ltd (and its subcontractors) who may use de-identified information from QuickRes (without client identifying information) to understand client service access to inform service quality improvement efforts.

5.     How do we protect and secure your information?

We take great care to protect client data. Technical measures are in place to prevent unauthorized or unlawful access to data and against accidental loss or destruction of or damage to data. Staff who are granted access to QuickRes data are trained to protect the data from any illegal or unauthorized access and usage. We protect and secure your data in the following ways:

  • Trained management, outreach, and counselling staff carefully support clients and handle their information securely. Our clinical partners are nationally accredited and follow health information guidelines set by the Department of Health.
  • QuickRes uses a range of security measures to protect clients and data including using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) which encrypts your communication with QuickRes, secure high-capacity cloud server hosting by GoDaddy, offsite backup service with military grade encryption, and password-protected user logins.
  • Your phone number used to book appointments on QuickRes is protected on QuickRes. The phone number is encrypted on the server and hidden from view of providers and client support staff. A key is used by QuickRes decode the phone number each time it is required for use (to send clients SMS reminders or to present the phone number to service providers and Treatment Navigators so they may contact you). QuickRes’ databases do not link your personal information with your phone number.
  • Patients exiting the treatment navigation programme will have their records closed on QuickRes and archived for a period of five years. After this five-year period, we will permanently strip all client information from client records on QuickRes. Your individual participation in treatment navigation on QuickRes is voluntary, and at any time you can exit the treatment navigation model and request your personal information be removed from QuickRes (see section 8 below).

6.     What kind of communication will you receive from QuickRes?

You may receive the following types of communications from QuickRes based on the phone number included on the appointment booked on QuickRes:

  • One appointment confirmation SMS message is sent to you immediately after the appointment is booked on QuickRes. The message will not include the specific health services you requested for your appointment.
  • Two reminder SMS messages are sent to you for upcoming appointments. The first reminder message is sent 48 hours before the scheduled appointment and the second message is sent 2 hours before the scheduled appointment. These messages will not include the specific health services you requested for your appointment.
  • One follow-up SMS message is sent to you at 6:00PM local time of the date of the scheduled appointment. This message contains a link to an online survey where you can provide feedback on your appointment. The message will not include the specific health services you requested for your appointment.
  • One SMS message is sent to you when a change is made to your appointment’s date, time, provider, or assigned Treatment Navigator. These changes can be made by the service provider or Treatment Navigator.
  • One SMS is sent to you when you have missed your appointment. This message is sent 24 hours after your missed appointment with instructions for rescheduling your appointment.
  • One SMS message is sent to you when diagnostics are reported by the laboratory or lab specialist, including instruction to call to learn about your specific result. The message does not include any information about the specific health services or results.
  • One SMS message is sent to you if you do not have a future appointment for medication refill scheduled on QuickRes and QuickRes calculates you have 10 days or less of medication stock remaining (based on your latest medication refill documented on QuickRes). The message will not specify the type of medication.
  • SMS messages from QuickRes as part of planned SMS campaigns relevant to health services you have accessed through QuickRes or to share updates for new or changed health services available through QuickRes. These messages will not include the specific health services you requested or received during appointments scheduled on QuickRes.
  • Voice calls, SMS, or WhatsApp messages/calls from the service provider and / or Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, a division of Wits Health Consortium (Pty) Ltd, where your appointment is booked or from another client support staff who is assigned access to your appointment. They may call you to confirm your appointment, assist you to reschedule to another date/time, or collect information from you prior to your appointment. The provider/client support staff will ask you to confirm your identity by confirming your name/nickname and birthdate used on the appointment before discussing any personal or health matters.

7.     How can I edit my communication preference and opt-out of QuickRes’ communications?

You can edit your communication preferences on QuickRes using the methods below:

  • Select “opt out of SMS” when you book an appointment on QuickRes or request the provider or client support staff to select this option when they book an appointment on your behalf. Selecting this option will block QuickRes from sending you any automated SMS messages for that specific appointment (will not affect other automated message sent for separate appointments).
  • Select “do not call” when you book an appointment on QuickRes or request the provider or client support staff to select this option when they book an appointment on your behalf. Selecting this option will notify the service provider and other client support staff to avoid contacting you on the phone number you provided and to take extreme precaution to confirm your identity if contacting you is necessary.
  • Contact your service provider or case manager to have your phone number updated on QuickRes or to provide them custom contact information (such as WhatsApp number or other contact information).
  • When you receive an SMS from QuickRes, it may include a phone number that can be called or texted to opt out of future communications.
  • Opt-out of all QuickRes SMS forever: To stop receiving all SMS from QuickRes you can reply to the SMS with any of these phrases: Opt-Out / Remove / Unsubscribe / Stop / Spam / Quit / Delete Standard messaging rates apply.

8.     How can you manage or delete your information on QuickRes?

We provide you with the ability to access, rectify, or delete your data. You can manage your date through the following ways:

  • Call the phone number provided in your appointment booking confirmation SMS from QuickRes to rectify or delete your data.
  • Start a chat with us on the home page and ask to speak to your assigned client support staff, who can help you access, rectify, or delete your data on QuickRes. When you start a chat with us on the home page, the chat is facilitated by WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram, and/or Viber.
  • Meet with your Treatment Navigator or Psychosocial Support Counsellor in-person during your appointment booked on QuickRes and ask them to rectify/delete your data.

Requests to access, edit, or delete your personal data on QuickRes may only proceed after service providers or client support staff can confirm your identity. After your identity is confirmed, requests will be processed immediately or within 10 days. If you cannot submit your request to manage or delete your personal information in QuickRes with the options described above, send an email with your request to [email protected]

9.     What is the minimum age to use QuickRes?

If you are 15 years or older, you may use QuickRes to book health services for yourself. If you are younger, you can ask your parent or legal guardian to book health services on your behalf. On the final page to book an appointment on QuickRes, parents can respond to the question “I am booking an appointment for…” by selecting “my child”. No proof of age will be required for you to book an appointment on QuickRes, however the service provider may request proof of age (such as identification card) and may refuse to provide services if it illegal for them to provide such services without a parent or guardian approval/present.

FHI 360 will not be liable for any cause of action that arises due to non-compliance with this section.

10.  How to contact us?

If you have any questions about this policy, you can contact us as described below:

Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, a Division of Wits Health Consortium (Pty) Ltd. (Local QuickRes controller)

  • Contact us by email at: Lynnette Murimba, Senior Programme Manager ([email protected]); or Bontle Biyela, Project Manager ([email protected])
  • Contact us by phone at: +27113585500 (Main office line)
  • Our office is located at: Wits RHI, St Andrews Office Park, 39 Wordsworth Avenue, Senderwood 2045
  • Chief Technology officer: Karl Basson, Wits Health consortium (WHC), [email protected]mailto:, Phone: 011 274 9200
  • Deputy Information officer: Adel Venter, Senior Legal Advisor, Wits Health consortium (WHC), [email protected], Phone: 011 274 9200

FHI 360 (Global QuickRes controller)

  • Contact us by email at [email protected]
  • Requests to modify or delete client personal information can be sent to [email protected]
  • FHI 360 East and Southern Africa Regional Office address: 333 Grosvenor Street, Hatfield Gardens, Block B, Hatfield, Pretoria 0083 South Africa
  • Information officer: Kristen Lingo, Assistant General Counsel, FHI 360 HQ [email protected] (Kristen serves as the de-facto global information officer for FHI 360)
  • FHI 360 is committed to making our programs safe for everyone. Please let us know if you ever feel uncomfortable or hurt by anyone from FHI 360, including anyone who works with one of our partner organizations. You can send an email to [email protected]; report a case anonymously online here; or call FHI 360’s hotline +1.720.514.4400. FHI 360 commits to non-retaliation of anyone who submits a report.