Assessment of the availability of essential medicines and inventory control practice at university of Gondar comprehensive specialized hospital, Amhara regional state of Ethiopia: institutional based cross-sectional study design

Abstract

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Assessment of availability of essential medicines is a critical component of universal health coverage and important factor to address patients’ satisfaction and increase their health seeking behavior. Proper inventory management of essential drugs in the health facilities is critical in ensuring availability of essential drugs. The objectives of the study were to assess availability of essential medicines and inventory control practice in university of Gondar comprehensive specialized hospital.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> The study was conducted using institution based cross sectional study design from March 10 to April 10, 2019. The data was collected by data abstraction formats and structured observation checklist and data was analyzed by Microsoft office excel for the assessment of the essential medicine’s availability and inventory control practices in Gondar university comprehensive specialized hospital. </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> The overall average availability of essential medicines during survey period in Gondar university hospital was 79.17%. The average stock out in the last six months period was 41.67%. The mean duration of stock out of essential medicines of the hospital in the last six months period was 31.7 days and average frequency of stock out was 0.7. The discrepancy between physical count and stock record count of essential medicines ranged from 0% to about 95%.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> The average availability of essential medicines during data collection period was fairly high. However, the facility was stock out for significant percent of essential medicines over the last six months period and stock out to lesser extent of percent at the time of survey period.</p>

Availability and stock-out duration of essential medicines in Shegaw Motta general hospital and Motta Health Centre, North West Ethiopia

“…It may be because the findings of the latter study were based on the findings of many health facilities, whereas this study reported findings from two separate health facilities. In addition, the report in this study was higher than the report in Gondar [27]. A study conducted in Jimma reported 55.65%…”

“…Furthermore, the average stockout period in Shegaw Motta general hospital during the last six months was slightly longer than what was found in the Gondar study. However, the average stockout period in Motta health center was shorter than that in the Gondar study [27]. Among the medicines in the Shegaw Motta general hospital, ferrous salt + folic acid 150 mg + 0.5mg had the longest stockout period, with 157 days.…”

“…At the hospital and health center, respectively, 60% and 20% of essential medicines were stocked out during the last six months. As compared to a study conducted in Gondar, the findings of the Shegaw Motta general hospital were significantly higher, whereas those of Motta health center were equivalent [27]. The provision of essential medications is crucial for meeting the most basic needs of the people, as well as promoting the rational use of medicines to improve the effectiveness of health resources [28].…”

Availability and Utilization of the WHO-Recommended Lifesaving Medicines for Under-Five Children at University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Amhara Region, Ethiopia

“…This was comparable with the study conducted in Ethiopia; the result revealed that the overall average availability of essential medicine was 19 (79.17%) and average stock out of medicine in the survey period was 5 (20.83%). 17 However, the findings of the current study showed a lower overall availability of essential medicines when compared to a study conducted in Gondar town 23.67 (91%). 18 The observed difference is probably because the health centers manage a limited number of medicines and they have a management effort.…”

Health professionals’ perception of pharmaceuticals procurement performance in public health facilities in Southwestern Ethiopia

“…Hence, to avoid service interruptions, the health facilities may purchase the required pharmaceuticals from private wholesales after receiving a letter attesting to the stock out of the products at the agency hubs [16]. Studies show that the majority of public health facilities in Ethiopia face a frequent shortage of medicines [17][18][19][20][21] and the percentage availability does not exceed 80% [22]. This is contrary to the aim of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), which promotes "access to safe, effective, high quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all" as a core element of Universal Health Coverage [23].…”