Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Sep 9:12:20503121241274041.
doi: 10.1177/20503121241274041. eCollection 2024.

Inventory Management Performance for Tracer Medicines in Public Health Facilities of Southwest Shewa Zone Oromia Region, Ethiopia: A mixed study

Alemayehu Gutesa  1 , Tariku Jebena  2 , Oliyad Kebede  3
Affiliations

Inventory Management Performance for Tracer Medicines in Public Health Facilities of Southwest Shewa Zone Oromia Region, Ethiopia: A mixed study

Alemayehu Gutesa et al. SAGE Open Med. .

Abstract

Introduction: Tracer medicines are medicines that must be available in sufficient quantities at all times to satisfy the priority health care needs of the population. Inventory mismanagement of these medicines poses significant challenges to public health systems, especially in countries like Ethiopia, where access to healthcare services is already limited.

Objective: This study aims to assess inventory management performance for tracer medicines at public health facilities of the southwest Shewa zone, Oromia region, Ethiopia.

Method: Concurrent triangulation mixed-method study was conducted from 1 to 30 June 2022. The quantitative data were collected using interviewer-administered semistructured questionnaires and observational checklists. The qualitative data were gathered through in-depth interviews with key informants. The quantitative data were analyzed using the SPSS version 26 and Excel spreadsheet version 16. We calculated the stock-out rate, inventory accuracy rate, percentage of facilities that fulfill appropriate storage conditions, percentage of facilities that submitted reports on time, and received the exact quantity of drugs they ordered. Qualitative data were analyzed manually using the thematic content analysis technique.

Results: The inventory accuracy rate for tracer medicines was 76% for hospitals and 72.5% for health centers. The overall mean stock-out rate was 24.99%. Bin card updating practice was 93.3%, and only 25% health facilities met the acceptable storage conditions criteria. Among submitted reports, 88.8% were timely reported, 72.2% were accurate, and 75% were complete. Inventory management challenges include a shortage of supplies from the supplier and in the market, price inflation, inadequate training, lack of supportive supervision, insufficient IT and storage infrastructures, lack of communication, and budget constraints.

Conclusion: From this finding, we concluded that facilities' report quality, inventory record accuracy, storage conditions, and logistics management information system needs improvements. Therefore, Ministry of Health, assessed facilities and Ethiopian pharmaceuticals Supply Services should take measures to improve them.

Keywords: Inventory management; availability; key essential medicines; public health facilities.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Inventory accuracy rate for tracer medicines in selected public health facilities of Southwest Shewa zone, Oromia region, Ethiopia, 2022.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Timeliness, completeness, and accuracy of tracer medicines logistics report in selected public health facility of Southwest Shewa zone, Oromia, Ethiopia, 2022.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Pharmaceutical stores fulfillment of the required drug storage conditions criteria in public health facilities of Southwest Shewa, Oromia region, Ethiopia, 2022.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Estimated average order lead time for tracer medicines in public health facilities of Southwest Shewa, Oromia Region, Ethiopia, 2022.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Halabi SF. Access to medicines and vaccines. Intellect Prop New Int Econ Order 2018: 91–104. DOI: 10.1017/9781316823088.008. - DOI
    1. Wirtz VJ, Hogerzeil HV, Gray AL, et al. Essential medicines for universal health coverage. Kazan Med J 2019; 100(1): 4–111.
    1. WHO. Towards access 2030: WHO medicines and health products programme strategic framework 2016–2030. Who/Emp/201701, http://www.who.int/medicines/publications/Towards_Access_2030_Final.pdf?... (2017, Accessesd on: Dec,2023).
    1. Hidayat R, Saleh I. The importance of inventory management in pharmaceutical practice. Open Access Indones J Soc Sci 2020; 3(1): 1–9.
    1. Management Science for Health and Embrey MA. Managing access to medicines and health technologies. West Hartford, CO: Kumarian Press, 2012.

LinkOut - more resources