Patient Transfers and Their Impact on Gaps in Clinical Care: Differences by Gender in a Large Cohort of Adults Living with HIV on Antiretroviral Therapy in South Africa

For people living with HIV (PLWH), patient transfers may affect engagement in care. We followed a cohort of PLWH in Cape Town, South Africa who tested positive for HIV in 2012–2013 from ART initiation in 2012–2016 through December 2016. Patient transfers were defined as moving from one healthcare facility to another on a different day, considering all healthcare visits and recorded HIV-visits only. We estimated incidence rates (IR) for transfers by time since ART initiation, overall and by gender, and associations between transfers and gaps of > 180 days in clinical care. Overall, 4,176 PLWH were followed for a median of 32 months, and 8% (HIV visits)—17% (all healthcare visits) of visits were patient transfers. Including all healthcare visits, transfers were highest through 3 months on ART (IR 20.2 transfers per 100 visits, 95% CI 19.2–21.2), but increased through 36 months on ART when only HIV visits were included (IR 9.7, 95% CI 8.8–10.8). Overall, women were more likely to transfer than men, and transfers were associated with gaps in care (IR ratio [IRR] 3.06 95% CI 2.83–3.32; HIV visits only). In this cohort, patient transfers were frequent, more common among women, and associated with gaps in care.