Pharmaceutical body says improper management of drugs creating waste

Nadisha Hunter, Staff Reporter

The Pharmaceutical Society of Jamaica (PSJ) is calling on the Government to put systems in place that will better manage medications in the public-health sector.

Valerie Germain, president of the PSJ, said the management of drugs is a deficiency that is adversely affecting the public-health sector.

She said the Government's decision to spend more on drugs could mean a waste of resources if the supplies are not properly managed.

"Pharmacy service in the public sector is at a crisis stage and we are not seeing the kind of urgency by the ministry in terms of having dialogue with the professional body to set up monthly or quarterly meetings to set up work plan so that we can address some of these issue," she said.

"There is a waste in the system which cannot fix unless the drugs are managed properly," she charged.

The Ministry of Health is moving to reduce a shortage of drugs and other medical supplies in public-health facilities this year.

The budget, which was unveiled last month, shows that the ministry intends to spend $3.4 billion on drugs and other medical supplies. The allocation is up 52 per cent above what was spent last year, although the ministry's overall allocation remains unchanged from last year.

critical areas

Germain called on the ministry to work closer with the association in an effort to address some of the dismal problems affecting the dispensing of drugs in the sector.

She said the shortage of pharmacists and the lack of an adequate inventory system are two critical areas that must be addressed.

"You have an inventory management system that does not link islandwide. I can go to Kingston Public Hospital today to fill a prescription, and if I have a chronic illness and I have repeats for my prescription, I can go to May Pen tomorrow and fill it, as there is nothing that connects the inventory and manage it islandwide," she said.

She said because of this, some persons are stocking up on the medications resulting in a shortage in system for other patients.

Meanwhile, Germain said there are not enough professionals in the system to manage drugs at the health facilities.

"Pharmacists play a key role in medication management as they interface with other health professionals, but the few that are in the system don't have the time to do that," Germain said.

"The shortage of pharmacists is impacting patient care because the service is now reduced to just pushing a container through a window and quality patient care is not about that, it is about counselling the patient, it is about intervening and working together with the doctor to make sure he is prescribing the best medicine for the patient," she added.