Pharmaceutical Management

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Pharmaceutical supply management is a complex but critical process when delivering healthcare around the world.

In many countries, health systems and programs run into difficulty achieving their public health goals because they have not addressed how medicines are supplied, managed and used. Health care facilities in vulnerable communities often lack the necessary tools and skills in order to properly manage and track their inventory. Without adequate supply management practices, hospitals and clinics run the risk of all types of wastages including overstocking, pilferage and expiration of essential medicine.

Improved pharmaceutical management systems mean that limited resources are maximized, health services are improved and more patients get the treatment they need.

What we are doing

Medicines are important and resources are limited in many countries around the world. That’s why HPIC has developed training programs and tools to assist health providers in enhancing pharmaceutical management practices to ensure better access to medicine in the long term. Since 2003, HPIC’s pharmaceutical management program has strengthened health systems by improving the availability of medicines and medical supplies and supporting reliable systems to procure medicines, assure quality, store securely, and properly transport where needed.

These projects have included:

• working with the Ministry of Health in Cuba to improve national pharmaceutical supply chain systems
• working with the central pharmaceutical warehouse and the national quality control laboratory in Afghanistan to ensure greater access to medicine and medical supplies
• supporting hospitals and health structures to setup systems to properly procure and distribute needed pharmaceuticals

HPIC works hand in hand with local health authorities and healthcare workers to improve supply management systems. Multiple strategies are utilized including:

• training on basic inventory management and good distribution practices
• improving pharmaceutical storage conditions at health facilities
• implementation of computerized inventory management systems

These strategies help boost staff capacity and performance, and make pharmaceutical management processes more effective and efficient.