Management of health inventories to be boosted

In its bid to improve accountability in the public-health sector, the Ministry of Health is moving to strengthen inventory management for pharmaceuticals and medical sundries.

Health Minister Rudyard Spencer said this was expected to be realised with the impending integration of the Health Corporation Limited and the National Health Fund (NHF).

"The integration will reduce duplication of effort, improve service delivery in pharma-ceutical operations and streamline operations in pharmacy services," Spencer said. "The functions that will be managed by the National Health Fund include procurement, warehousing and distribution."

The minister was speaking at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston, yesterday, after the signing of nine of 10 contracts between the Health Corporation Limited and suppliers of medical sundries for the public-health sector, totalling more than $279 million.

The integration will see Drug Serv, the retail arm of the Health Corporation Limited, managed by the NHF.

Spencer disclosed that approval has already been given for an interim organisational structure for the NHF that reflects its expanded functions.

"The integration will result in immediate savings of $60 million in staff costs, but greater cost savings are expected from efficiency gains in the management of the pharmaceutical operations," he added.

In the meantime, the contracts signed are for a period of 18 months, and cover some 142 items that are included in the ministry's vital, essential and necessary list.

According to Spencer, the purchase of pharmaceutical preparations and medical sundries is the single most costly item on the health ministry's budget, except for wages and salaries.

The drugs and medical sundries budget has increased by 167 per cent over the last five years, up from $898 million in the 2004-05 financial year to $2.4 billion in the current fiscal year.