Cell-Life started 2006 with an installation of a revamped iDART at the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre, UCT. This was coupled with an installation at the Nomzamo Clinic in Masiphumelele, Fish Hoek. These two health care facilities operate using a down-referral type system, where drugs are collected at remote ARV sites in communities, but are packaged at a central pharmacy. The pharmacist uses iDART to manage this supply chain management process. This revamped iDART had been rewritten in Java and included a number of new features: Accurate reports for stock levels and patient-related information, a professional logo and corresponding icons, and additional administrative features.

The lessons Cell-Life learnt from the clinic setups in DTHC and Masiphumelele were invaluable. However, the patient loads at these facilities are quite contained and manageable for the pharmacist, and so Cell-Life started researching ways in which iDART should be improved to help busier clinics, commonly found in the public health sector.

A number of collaborators and clients assisted with this. Through the financial assistance from the Elton John Aids Foundation, Cell-Life installed iDART at the busy Taung Treatment Centre in the North West province. Another exciting iDART development this year has been the collaboration work with the Reproductive Health Research Unit (RHRU) in Johannesburg, resulting in iDART being installed at the Hillbrow Community Health Centre. The Galeshene Day Hospital in Kimberley will soon have iDART installed (our 2nd site for the Elton John Aids Foundation). And a collaborative partnership between Cell-Life and eInnovation, has resulted in major development work on iDART V2.0. This new version is the dispensing module of eKapa, an electronic patient record system developed by the team at eInnovation, and will be rolled out to local government clinics in 2007. The Hannan Crusaid Centre in Gugulethu will soon be piloting iDART v2.0 through this partnership.

Through observation studies and conversions with the pharmacists, pharmacy assistants and other personal affiliated with these collaborators and clients, a number of additional features were identified and developed. Many of these have greatly improved the time it takes to dispense to patients, have improved system usability, as well as improved ways in which clinics can monitor patients (particularly, defaulting patients who fail to collect their medication timorously).

2007 promises to be an even more exciting year for iDART, as iDART 2.0 is installed and tested at a number of government public health clinics.