The National Health Laboratory Service, South Africa
South Africa’s largest pathology organization deploys TrakCare Lab to support 4,400 clinics and hospitals in fight against HIV/AIDS
The National Health Laboratory Service of South Africa (NHLS) has successfully completed the first of two phases of deployment for InterSystems TrakCare Lab™*. The consolidated laboratory service is a key part of the government’s program to improve the management of pandemic and chronic illnesses, including drug resistant tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and the overall healthcare service delivery.
The NHLS handles all public health sector
pathology testing and provides an extensive
array of research and disease monitoring
services designed to support the 4,000 clinics
and 400 hospitals in the South African public
healthcare system. This system provides healthcare
services for the approximately 38 million
uninsured of the 45 million people in South
Africa. NHLS supports the National Department
of Health and employs 6,500 people at more than 250 laboratories throughout
the country. The first phase has seen full implementation in the 54 laboratories
in KwaZuluNatal, a province in South Africa’s southeast which is the epicentre
of the world’s HIV/AIDS epidemic. With the rapid turnaround of tests and
results made possible by TrakCare Lab, the province is seeing faster access to
treatment for its large HIV positive population.
TrakCare Lab is helping to reduce costs, improve productivity, and significantly speed up the service levels to nearly 40,000 healthcare professionals working in the public healthcare system.
“We undertook an extensive in-depth evaluation of leading LIMS products before deciding that the TrakCare Lab system is the optimal choice for NHLS.”
--Sagie Pillay
CEO
NHLS
The program is implementing TrakCare Lab on a network that utilizes InterSystems Caché high-performance object database as a centralized repository. It also uses InterSystems Ensemble, a seamless platform for integration and the development of connectable applications, to enable the smooth integration and connectivity for multiple applications and information repositories
Sagie Pillay, CEO of NHLS said, “We have seen the need for pathology services increase by 106 percent over the last four years. With this ever-increasing demand for top-tier testing and disease monitoring services, it was essential to implement a world-class laboratory information management system (LIMS). We undertook an extensive in-depth evaluation of leading LIMS products before deciding that the TrakCare Lab system is the optimal choice for NHLS.”
*Trakcare is not available in the U.S.
