Part Four 4.1
Poor Record Keeping and Inadequate Controls Impact on the Supply of Prescription Drugs to Patients
We found that the absence of a formal system to track usage patterns coupled with unreliable prescription drug stock balances resulted in hospital pharmacies inability to determine the quantity of prescription drugs required to meet patients’ needs on a monthly basis. This resulted in overstocking and shortages of prescription drugs in the hospitals.
4.2
Prescription drugs are stored in designated stores at the hospitals and then distributed to the various dispensing units namely; inpatient, outpatient and ward. The inpatient unit processes drugs for patients admitted to the institutions, the outpatient unit processes prescription drugs for outpatients who presents prescription scripts issued by a medical doctor in the public health sector, while the ward unit processes drugs for general ward supplies4. All three sub-dispensing units requisitioned supplies from the main pharmacy stores using internally generated requisition forms.
4.3
Pharmacies’ Storekeepers are required to maintain records of stock movement to readily monitor stock balances and to alert the hospital when there is need for replenishment of stock. This record also prevents overstocking and wastage of these critical items. We found no management system in place by which drugs at the hospital pharmacies visited could be properly accounted for. For example, stock records are not maintained for prescription and other drugs stored on the wards and the outpatients’ pharmacies at these locations.
4
These supplies are required to be kept on the ward for emergency and general purposes.
Auditor General’s Department – Performance Audit Report
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