Essential Drugs Supply: Concept, Definition, Terms, Pre-packing Of Drugs And Drugs Revolving Fund (DRF)

Essential Drugs Supply: Concept, Definition, Terms, Pre-packing Of Drugs And Drugs Revolving Fund (DRF).

Concept of Essential Drugs.

The concept of national essential Drugs program is to make easy access to must needed drugs to the wide spread of the population by making a list of basic or essential drugs.

Pharmacology: can be defined as the scientific study of interaction with chemical substances (drugs) and living tissue.

Drug: these are chemical substances originated from plant, minerals or animals use in the diagnosis, treatment and preventions of diseases of a man and other animals.

Terms use in essential drugs supply.

Nomenclature: this is the act of creating names for drugs or other pharmaceutical substances. There are three names of drugs:

Generic name

Chemical name

Brand name.

The Generic name: the official name assigned to the drugs by councilor or manufacturers.

The chemical name: this describe the exact structure of the drugs. Chemical name are quite long and difficult.

The Brand name: this is also called Trade name, is the name given to the drugs by the manufacturers that sell the drugs, it is shorter, simpler and easier to remember and most frequently used.

Drugs tolerance: the ability to endures drugs administration and developed no adverse reaction.

Adverse effects of drugs: the unfavorable, undesirable and unwanted negative effects of the drugs that comes many days after drugs administration.

Indication: Disorders that when present, shows that the particular drugs can be used for the management of the illness.

Contraindication: A symptoms or signs suggestion that a certain of treatment should be discontinue or avoided.

Side effect: An understandable secondary effect of drugs in use for medical treatment.

Drugs interaction: When two or more drugs have reciprocal influence on each other.

Placebo: Prescription without physical effect.

This may be given for positive psychological effect.

What is essential drugs?

Essential drugs are those drugs that can satisfied the health care needs of the great majority of people and which should be available at all time, in an adquate amount and in an appropriate dosage form at all levels of health care delivery system of the country.

Steps for management of essential drugs program.

There are four steps for management of essential drugs:

1. Selecting from the essential drugs list

Those drugs needed at specific health facility. The factors that determine the selection of drugs in a specific health facility is based on the following:

Level of training of health workers in the health facility.

Availability of fund.

Prevailing health problems.

Acceptability and patient preference.

The process of selecting the drugs is based on:

Review of prevalent death of the people in the community taking in to account the new common problems.

Choose the drugs adquate to each problems by the generic name.

Determine the quantity of drugs needed by considering consumption rate of each drugs and ordering intervals.

2. Ordering the drugs

Making a formal request backed by payment for essential drugs needed.

Steps to follow for ordering the drugs are:

Determine the ordering intervals

Make a list of drugs needed

Calculate the amount of drugs with a specific ordering intervals

Complete a drugs requisition form accordingly

Forward money for drugs ordered together with requisition form (in some area Local Purchase Order is used- LPO).

3. Receiving the drugs (Stocking): this means receiving and storing the drugs.

Steps in stocking the drugs:

Receive the drugs

Signed a receipt book for drugs received and the delivery note (where applicable)

Complete a ledger book for each drugs or items you received

Put the drugs in a shelves, refrigerator or in a lock up cupboard as appropriate

Make use of FIFO or FEFO (first in first out or first expiry first out).

4. Issueing the drugs: this is to issueing the drugs out and using of the drugs.

Steps in issueing the drugs:

Filling the requisition form from the requesting unit

Receiving the money for quantity of drugs to be supply

Issued up the drugs

Balance your ledger book for each drugs items

Issue that receiving signed a receiving voucher.

What is Pre-packing of drugs?

Is the counting and placing of drugs in to separate envelope accounting to individual causes of drugs, this is usually done before the commencement of the course of given drugs to the patient according to prescription. This process is more on tablets and capsules form of drugs.

Advantages of Pre-packing of drugs.

Improvements of health workers skills and accuracy in drugs account.

It saves time

It reduces errors associated with dispensing and prescription especially over or under prescription.

What is Drugs Revolving Fund?

Drugs revolving fund is a system of cost recovery which the money realize from the sales of drugs is used to purchase more drugs hence revolving.

Purpose of DRF

The purpose of drugs revolving fund is to address the problems associated with the scarcity of essential drugs especially in the rural area, maldistrubution of the available drugs, the cost of drugs been taken care up by government along and the beneficiaries not valueing the free supply of essential drugs.

What are the steps for setting up Drugs Revolving Fund?

In order to make sure that essential drugs are supplying to the people, there are some steps for setting up the DRF. These steps are:

I. Make a sensitizing meeting with development committee on the need of DRF.

II. Make a list of the required essential drugs in the healthcare center.

III. Give an advice to committee on appointing a staffs and treasurer for DRF.

IV. Calculate the amount of drugs needed for about three to six months according to the level of your health facility.

V. Cost the drugs according to the local government area medical drugs store.

VI. Raise the initial capital through contribution, donation etc.

VII. Order the drugs.

VIII. Explain to DRF staffs and to the what cost recovery means.

IX. Open a ledger with a page for each drug.

X. Advise on a DRF bank account and signatories to the account.

XI. Obtain a review monthly statement of account.

Advantages of Drugs Revolving Fund (DRF).

1. Essential Drugs Affordability: by using drugs revolving fund, people can get assess and afford to pay for the essential drugs prescribed by the medical practitioner to them or their relatives when they contact health facility.

2. Drugs Accountability: Drugs Revolving Fund helps to moves drugs management to be accountable.

3. Community participation and involvement: when people have assess to get essential drugs that carter their health needs, it will encourage them to participate and involves themselves to play their roles in it.

4. It provides a self accounting.

5. Discourage irrational used of drugs: DRF helps in such a way that only essential drugs are available and can only be used on medical practitioner's advice.

Barriers to effective running of Drugs Revolving Fund (DRF).

The barriers that can hinder to the effective running of DRF are listed below:

Price increase

Poor orientation of DRF staffs

Theft of drugs or money

Inproper budgeting/under budgeting

Ineffective cost recovery

Lack of concern by politicians/ political will

Careless management

Disaster e.g fire outbreak, accident and flooding

Drugs filfering

Robbery

Irrational used of drugs.

Sources:

Community Health Unpublished Lecture Note