Process Step 1:
Assess
The toolkit for effective outsourcing to pharmacies
In this section, you will learn:
- Whether an opportunity exists for outsourcing medicine distribution through pharmacies
- How to assess the Government sentiment and policy regarding outsourcing the distribution of medicine to pharmacies.
- How to review and map the current healthcare facilities landscape and the demographics of chronic diseases
- How to assess the opportunity for outsourcing distribution to pharmacies
The outcome and benefits of a rigorous assessment are that the ministry of health will be able to:
- Establish willingness and ensure that policies and regulations are enabling.
- View a complete picture of the healthcare delivery landscape to make informed decisions.
- Identify any functional gaps (such as congested health facilities) that could resolve using a retail pharmacy channel.
It is suggested that this section be read in consultation with Policy and Advocacy and Governance.
Three tasks need to be undertaken to Assess the environment and opportunity for outsourcing to pharmacies:
Summary of Assess
The first Process Step, Assess, assists you to understand the status of your supply chain and assess what gaps or opportunities exist for outsourcing. It is important first to review and map the existing health facilities landscape. Once this is completed, you can Assess the outsourcing opportunity for utilising pharmacies. Finally, in Assess, you have learnt about tools to support supply chain assessment, including supply chain mapping and geo-mapping. In the second Process Step, Evaluate, you will be provided with the tools for identifying relevant retail pharmacy distribution models, designing a retail pharmacy drug distribution model specific to your country, and developing an investment case to examine the costs and benefits of implementing the retail pharmacy model.