Product Specialist

CHAPTER 10 PHARMACEUTICAL MANAGEMENT MODULE

10.1 Overview This chapter presents the pharmaceutical management module of the assessment manual. Section 10.1 defines pharmaceutical management, the key functions of pharmaceutical management, and the various processes that make up a pharmaceutical management system. Section 10.2 provides guidelines on preparing a profile of the pharmaceutical management system in the country of interest. Section 10.3 provides details on pharmaceutical management indicators. Section 10.4 is a brief guide to summarizing the findings and using them to recommend the next steps. 10.1.1 What Is Pharmaceutical Management? Careful management of pharmaceuticals is directly related to a country’s ability to address public health concerns. Even so, many health systems and programs run into difficulty achieving their goals because they have not addressed how the medicines essential to saving lives and improving health will be managed, supplied, and used. Pharmaceuticals can be expensive to purchase and distribute, but shortages of essential medicines, improper use of medicines, and spending on unnecessary or low-quality medicines also have a high cost—wasted resources and preventable illness and death. Because medicines are so important and resources so limited, ways have been developed to improve the supply and use of medicines while minimizing costs. Pharmaceutical management represents the whole set of activities aimed at ensuring the timely availability and appropriate use of safe, effective quality medicines and related products and services in any health care setting. The following terms are used in pharmaceutical management.

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Bid: A bid is document prepared in response to an expression of procurement needs (also known as a tender). Cold chain: The distribution system used for the storage and transport of pharmaceuticals that require refrigeration (e.g., certain vaccines) is called a cold chain. In some countries a formal cold chain...