Access to lifesaving drugs: PIMS to expand range, limit of medicines under local purchase

Hospital chief directs to install cameras in the pharmacy to ensure transparency

ISLAMABAD: To ease and simplify the provision of critical medicine to patients visiting the emergency ward of the largest tertiary care hospital in the federal capital, officials have decided to expand the range of medicines procured under ‘local purchases’ and provide medicines costing up to Rs5,000 to patients. This was decided by Dr Amjad, the head of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in the capital. While all patients visiting the emergency ward will be entitled to medicines worth up to Rs5,000, the hospital’s ‘indoor patients’ (admitted into wards) and other entitled patients will be able to avail local purchase facility of up to Rs10,000, after the approval of the deputy executive director of the hospital. The joint executive director will be empowered to authorise the procurement of medicines costing up to Rs20,000 for emergency cases. In case medicines costing more than that are required, the hospital’s chief can be approached for the requisite authorization.

Apprehensive of pilferage of stocks in the medical stores of the hospital and to make the medicine distribution process more transparent, Dr Amjad has directed to install closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the stores. Moreover, the medical records will be computerized and will be linked to a centralised monitoring system. Furthermore, the Pims’ chief has decided to introduce strict regulations regarding counter checks on medicines being issued at the pharmacy with the relevant deputy director required to sign off on drugs procured through local purchase. A signature from the pharmacy’s managers will also be required. Moreover, Dr Amjad has decided for the first time to make the entire system centralised to bring transparency into the provision and distribution of medicines in the hospital.

To oversee the purchase of medicines, Dr Amjad has formed a drug formulary committee consisting of expert medical professors. This committee will decide which medicines should be purchased for the hospital. Moreover, a separate drug purchasing committee has been formed with a health expert at the help, which will be responsible for procuring medicines every three months. According to the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules, the purchase committee issues tenders for the purchase of medicines and the contract is given to the successful company. Sources further said that according to the PPRA rules hospitals’ system of the canteen, pharmacy stores and parking are directly advertised and are given on contracts through bidding. According to the sources, the hospital has been allocated Rs620 million for the ongoing fiscal year. Of this, however, the hospital is only allowed to spend just two per cent for local purchase of medicines, or approximately Rs12 million. Last year, officials said that the hospital had bought lifesaving drugs worth Rs9 million to Rs10 million from the market to fulfil the needs of emergency patients. This was up from the Rs7 million spent in 2016 to issue medicines under the local purchase regulations.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 13^th, 2018.