ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE： To investigate the situation and reasons of drug shortage in some medical institutions from Sichuan province. METHODS： A questionnaire survey was conducted among 78 medical institutions in Sichuan province by stratified random sampling. The situation of drug shortage were collected from Jan. 2015 to Jun. 2017， mainly including the basic information of medical institutions， drug shortage situation， specific drug shortage information and the reasons for drug shortage. Descriptive analysis of the information collected by the questionnaire was carried out， and Logistic regression analysis of the data by SPSS 20.0 software was adopted to find out the key factors affecting drug shortage. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS： Totally 78 medical institutions include 13 third-level hospitals， 22 second-level hospitals and 43 primary medical institutions （10 community health service centers， 33 township health centers）. A total of 78 questionnaires were sent out， and the recovery rate and effective rate both were 100％. Among them， 68 medical institutions reported 206 shortage drugs totally， involving 240 specifications. The prices of more than 88.34％ of the shortage drug were less than 50 yuan. Main types of shortage drugs included anti-infective drugs， central nervous system drugs and cardiovascular system drugs， and most of them were purchased directly through internet. The proportion of temporary shortage （shortage time＜3 months） and long-term shortage （shortage time＞12 months） was relatively high （more than 68％ in total）. Drug supply and medical institutions’own factors were two main causes of drug shortage. Logistic regression analysis showed that main factors affecting the time of drug shortage were hospital drug purchase process， location of medical institution and drug purchase price. The main factors affecting the specifications of drug shortage in medical institutions were the process of drug purchase， the limitation of hospital purchase catalogue， primary or non-primary medical institution， comprehensive or specialized hospitals. It is suggested that medical institutions in this region can reduce the drug shortage caused by their own reasons by building a platform for drug information management， optimizing drug purchase catalogues and plans， strengthening the management of pharmacy inventory and establishing a regulatory system for distribution enterprises.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE： To investigate the reasons for drug shortage in medical institutions of Sichuan province and put forward relevant countermeasures， and to provide reference for establishing supply security mechanism of drug shortage. METHODS： Questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate drug shortage in 78 medical institutions of the province during Jan. 2015-Jun. 2017. Traceability investigation was conducted from manufacturers and distribution enterprises involved in drug shortage. Questionnaire survey and field investigation were combined to analyze the reasons for drug shortage in Sichuan province and put forward countermeasures. RESULTS： Totally 78 questionnaires were sent out to medical institutions with recovery rate and effective rate of 100％. A total of 206 drugs were reported by 78 medical institutions， involving 240 specifications for shortage in total. Totally 140 questionnaires and 68 questionnaires were distributed to the manufacturers and distribution enterprises involved in drug shortage， and the recovery rate and effective rate were all 100％. Combined with the field survey， survey results of shortage drugs of 212 specifications were obtained. From the perspective of manufacturers， the most important factors causing drug shortage were the increase of production cost （66.51％） and circulation cost（26.88％）. From the perspective of distribution enterprises，the main factors causing drug shortage were insufficient supply of drugs（75.47％），inventory management（16.51％） and price inversion（11.32％）. CONCLUSIONS： Main reasons of drug shortage from manufacturers and distribution enterprises include the increase of production cost and circulation cost， drug price inversion， inventory management and bidding procurement. It is suggested that measures should be taken to improve the bidding and pricing system of drugs， mobilize the enthusiasm of enterprises； improve the early warning mechanism of drug shortage on the enterprises， strengthen information communication； establish the mechanism of drug shortage reserve， organize the emergency production of drug for shortage； strengthen the management of drug shortage supply chain， purify the unhealthy atmosphere in the market； improve the emergency disposal methods of drug shortage， and improve the supply guarantee ability of drug shortage. Departments cooperate to reduce the emergence of drug shortage and ensure the continuous access to safe and effective drugs in clinic.