Study to Identify the Issues on Supply Chain Management of Medical / Diagnostic Items and to Propose a Strategic Framework

Introduction: Sri Lanka is a country which provides the health service, with medicine/ medical items needed for patient care service to both inward and outward patients for diagnosis and treatment. Free of charge at the point of service in the public sector. These medicines/ medical items and diagnostic items are provided to all the government hospitals through a centralized supply chain management process and the central organization- Medical Supplies Division (MSD). The medical items purchased by the State Pharmaceutical  Corporation (SPC) – government owned corporation and the procurement entity on behalf of MSD are distributed to directly or periodically to large network of  curative care institutions (1050 institutions) and preventive care centres (340 MOH units) through central or provincial distribution mechanisms. There are long felt issues in medical supply management which hinder the quality of patient care management.

 

Objective: To study and identify the issues on Supply Chain Management of Medical / Diagnostic items and to propose strategic a framework.

 

Methods: This descriptive cross sectional study with both qualitative and quantitative components study was done by desk reviews with the secondary data of past few years also with Focus Group Interviews and Key Informant Interviews to study to identify the issue on Supply Chain Management of Medical/ Diagnostic Items and to propose strategic framework. Effectiveness was assessed on criteria of Availability, Affordability, Accessibility, coverage and Quality.

 

Result: Affordability was assured by free health and free medicine policy and out of pocket expenditure has been reduced by providing cardiac stents, eye lenses, expensive antibiotics and anti-cancer drugs freely without limits as well as all investigation free of charge and only through the hospital not by private labs. Public sector curative health care institutions are readily accessible for the patients through good health institutional network, which is well connected by good island wide road network. Island wide coverage has been achieved with availability of free western type of government health care service within 4.8 Km from patient home. But, still availability and quality were unsatisfactory due to various issues in Medical Supply Management.

 

Conclusion: Despite the measures being taken, challenges still exist in Medical Supply Management. A comprehensive strategic framework with all possible strategies is proposed to be implemented and monitored with shared responsibilities among stakeholders which will provide evidence base sustainable solutions to issues in Medical Supply Management.