Information Sheet (PDF)

About the project

Simple is now used in hospitals of all sizes in India and Bangladesh. In many facilities, clinicians see more than 100 patients each day, so ease-of-use and high performance are key.

2,180 active* public health facilities
from district hospitals to community clinics

509,783 patients
with hypertension managed in Simple

1,952,870 BPs recorded
since the program started

14 sec follow-up
median time to record a follow-up visit if patient has a BP Passport ID card

65 sec registration
median time to register a new patient in Simple

397,306 text messages sent
reminding patients to return for follow-up

** Data updated 1-Feb-2021
* >10 patients recorded at a facility in the last week

Simple had strong uptake in public health facilities in India and Bangladesh. Healthcare workers appreciate that Simple is easy to learn, simple to use, and takes up very little data. In a recent survey, nurses and doctors gave Simple a 4.5/5 star rating.

Read more about what we are doing differently and what we have learned developing Simple.

Where did this project start?

Simple is supported by Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of the not-for-profit Vital Strategies, which aims to reduce the number of people dying from heart disease and strokes in low- and middle-income countries. A key goal is to dramatically increase the number of people with hypertension who have their blood pressure measured and controlled. Simple, contextual digital platforms for managing hypertension are essential to enable actionable reporting and improve patient management.

What are our principles?

We have published a set of Digital Principles. We also endorse the Principles for Digital Development. We embody these concepts in our work culture and in the policies and processes guiding our development activities.

Is Simple really free?

This project is supported by Resolve to Save Lives, which enables us to provide Simple completely free of cost with no strings attached. This project will always be open source — free and open to contributions from everyone.

Where can I learn more?

There is a lot more about Resolve to Save Lives' cardiovascular health goals on the website. Our blog has articles about specific aspects of the project and lessons learned as we develop an ultra-thin EMR.

What is Simple built with?

The Android app is written in Kotlin. The API is written in Ruby on Rails. Clinical data is FHIR compliant. Thanks for asking, fellow geeks! More details in our documentation and on Github.

Thank you

This project relies on excellent advice and participation from the Government of India, state governments in India, the Indian Council of Medical Research, the National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh, and countless clinical workers, patients, and colleagues who put in the hard work every day to improve the control of hypertension.

Who contributes to this project?

This is an open source project with contributions from clinicians, designers, developers, and technologists. Some of the early contributors include: