2014, Number 4
Improvements in the drug distribution process in Droguería La Habana
Reid AL, Suárez PY
Full text
Language: Spanish
References: 7
Page: 598-611
PDF size: 288.43 Kb.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: the present plan for eradication of failures, evaluation of distribution and consumption of drugs and the pharmaceutical-related activities are systematically controlled by the highest governmental and party authorities with the objective of analyzing the existing situation and of making joint decisions. Droguería La Habana is making analysis and planning the drug consumption in the capital and is taking responsibility on the losses caused by drug expiration year after year.Objective: to set actions to improve the drug distribution process on a continuous basis in Droguería La Habana, so that the expiration of drugs be reduced.
Methods: the professional group of Droguería La Habana revised all the technical reports on drug expiration whose expiration date coincided with the study period from January 2008 to December 2009. The analysis indicators were number of drugs that had expired per laboratory and year, causes of expiration and economic cost. The causes of expiration were determined during the distribution process by combining the teamwork with the brainstorm and taking the present regulatory aspects and the non-conformity claims detected in the internal auditing. The order of priority for the improvement actions was determined by the quality management tool called weighed selection. For confirmation of improvement, the same indicators set in the diagnosis were considered for the January 2010-October 2011 period.
Results: the diagnosis detected 102 affected items out of the total number of drugs included in the Basic Drug Program. The expired drugs amounted to 92 530 for an economic cost of $ 264 365.80. Six critical factors for success and four improvement options were then put forward. Once the improvement actions were implemented, the number of expired drugs significantly lowered (31 724 units) representing 44 items for 5.07 % of the total number of drugs included in the Basic Drug Program. This confirmed the advances attained in this activity.
Conclusions: effectiveness of actions that were implemented to improve the drug distribution process is seen in the reduction of drugs at risk of expiration; the best utilization of stocks, better functioning of the drug expiration commission, the training of staff in the involved areas, all of which decreases the contribution of labs to the expiration of drugs in the follow-up phase.
REFERENCES
Ministerio de Salud Pública. Centro para el Control Estatal de la Calidad de los Medicamentos. Resolución No. 90/2006. Procedimiento para el Control Sanitario de los Medicamentos y Materias Primas relacionadas, decomisados, declarados en abandono u ocupados a personas naturales y jurídicas. La Habana: MINSAP;2006.