[india-drug] Drug use indicator study in Karnataka

[owner-india-drug@healthnet.org]

Drug use indicator study in Karnataka
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Dear India drug participants,

The Karnataka Health System Development Project, as a step to promote
Rational Use of drugs has currently undertaken a study to investigate
drug use in the public sector health facilities. A random sample of
forty four health facilities has been included in the study. The
facilities have been randomized so as to have equal representation of
hospitals of various bed strengths (30, 50, 100, 250+ beds) and
hospitals from all the divisions in Karnataka. Data collection forms
for the Prescribing Indicators, availability of key drugs, stock out
duration and adequate storage, developed by the World Health
Organization as a part of the Core drug use indicator have been
distributed to the in-house pharmacists for data collection.

I have been involved in the study since the training of the data
collectors. As a student from Boston University School of Public
Health, this has provided me with a rich learning experience, while
allowing me to serve my home country. During our data collection
monitoring trip to the health facilities, there were a few observations
that caught our attention and would like to present my thoughts in a
series of mailings to the experts in the field for their feedback,
comments and advice. 

OBSERVATION 1:  

Almost all the health care centers have maintained the stock of a drug
from different suppliers separately in different stock books. Their
explanation to this fragmented stock keeping, as a requirement posed by
the individual suppliers is well taken. Maintaining separate stock
books could help to track the expirations of different batches more
easily, but may not be the most efficient method of calculating the
total stock on hand and for timely indenting for procurement. In a
system that lacks computerization, where the pharmacies are
understaffed and pharmacists? are burdened with numerous tasks, the
general answer to the concept of maintaining an additional stock book
with all the suppliers pooled together was disregarded. It has also
been observed that separate Bin cards have been maintained for the same
drug that was received from different suppliers. If quantification is
the direction that we should be working towards, and if individual
health care facilities have to indent appropriately on time, should a
centralized method of pooling the stocks of a drug from various
suppliers be our practice? Is this how stock books are maintained in
other parts of India and the world? Have there been any movements in
this area earlier that we could learn lessons from? 

Acknowledgements to KHSDP, Smt C. Sunitha Srinivas and Dr. H. Sudarshan
for all the support and help extended.

Thanking You,

Warm Regards
Aruna Setty

ARUNA SETTY
BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH 
arunasetty@hotmail.com  



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