Medicine Supply Management Practices in the San Juan City Health Care Facilities: A Basis for an Effective Health Care Service Delivery to the Public

Abstract

Medicine supply management (MSM) is analytical and of great concern in running a health facility. Unavailability of essential medicines is to a higher percentage blamed on the weak inventory management system. The study aimed to identify problems in MSM practices and determine its effect on healthcare service delivery focusing on San Juan City health facilities (SJCHF). It covered the perceptions of patients for a competent health care service delivery from four (4) SJCHF with a total sample of 36 health staff, 400 patients, and five key informants were selected for the study. This study assessed the MSM practices of the health care providers (physicians, nurses, and midwives) of SJCHF. The current methods of MSM still have deficiencies in the following key areas: 1) management of recording and reporting system on utilized medicines, 2) inadequate monitoring and evaluation system on LGU procured medicines and 3) lack of guidelines on medicine supply management. By researching on these areas of MSM and their interdependence, the researcher has confirmed the System Theory Diagram as applied in MSM where it explored the beliefs of health providers in the current supply chain practices significantly affecting the health care service delivery vis-à-vis the patients’ experience in the access to medicine supply. It is therefore recommended for the City Health Department (CHD) to necessarily develop institutionalized MSM strategies that will accurately define the roles and responsibilities of each health care provider across all levels of the CHD to ensure that efficient MSM practices with strict compliance thereof. With these measures, it will link the medicine supply (Input) and greatly satisfy the needs of the majority (Output) as evidenced by the improvement of health-seeking behaviors of the community resulting to an effective healthcare service delivery outcome.