The CAPRISA Vulindlela and eThekwini Pharmacies transitioned their manual dispensing processes for all projects in the CAPRISA AIDS Treatment Program to the iDART computerized system mid September 2009. The Intelligent Dispensing of ART (iDART) software is used by the pharmacist to manage ARV stocks, print reports and manage collection of drugs by patients. The software is also designed to address the reporting requirements of funders, such as PEPfAR and provides internal clinical data such as early identification of patients who have not collected their medication on time The key benefits include but are not limited to accurate tracking of patient treatment (including history), automatic generation of reports, accurate ARV stock control management, time saving of pharmacy dispensing through faster processing and reduction and identification of loss of ARVs through the stock take functionality. The system operates through clearly identifiable (doses are in large font), multi-lingual bar-coded labels which are created for every drug and patient package. The patient’s next appointment date is also printed on each drug label. iDART software is open source and was developed as a collaboration between Celllife and the Desmond Tutu HIV foundation and is supported technically by Cell-Life, a NGO based in Cape Town. Cell-Life also assists sites in South Africa with implementation and training of pharmacy staff in optimal integration of iDART into the existing services.

- Tanuja Gengiah