Chapter One
Managing Pharmaceuticals and
Information in IPLS
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Chapter Objective:
At the end of this chapter, participants will be able to
describe IPLS, identify its components, and explain how the
flow of pharmaceutical products and information is managed
in IPLS and the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders
in the implementation of IPLS.
Enabling Objectives: After completing this chapter,
participants will be able to:
Describe IPLS
Identify components of IPLS
Explain product and information flow in IPLS
Discuss roles and responsibility of key stakeholders in the
implementation of IPL
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Chapter Outline:
[Link] to IPLS
[Link] of IPLS
[Link] and Information flow in IPLS
[Link] and responsibility of key stakeholders
[Link] Summar
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1.1. Introduction to IPLS
The provision of complete health care requires ensuring equitable
access to medicines of assured quality, safety, and efficacy.
To assure this, an integrated pharmaceutical logistics system (IPLS)
was designed and implemented in Ethiopia to manage
pharmaceuticals and information flow.
IPLS integrates the management of all pharmaceuticals into one
system, including program medicines that used to be managed
vertically, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB, and leprosy, EPI, family
planning, and RMNCH products since 2007
IPLS is flexible enough to accommodate new commodities
integration considering the nature of the commodities.
The IPLS aims to ensure that patients get the pharmaceuticals they
need by fulfilling the six rights of supply chain management. i.e., the
right product, in the right quantity, of the right quality, at the right
place, at the right time, for the right cost
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1.2. Components of IPLS
1. LMIS (logistics management information systems)
2. Inventory Control System
3. Store Management
1.2.1. Logistics Management Information System (LMIS)
• The purpose of a Logistics Management Information System (LMIS) is
to collect, organize, and report information to other levels in the
system in order to make decisions that govern the logistics system
and ensure that all six rights are fulfilled for each client.
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. These three essential data items of LMIS are:
1) Stock on Hand: Quantities of usable stock available at a particular
point in time.
2) Consumption Data: The quantity of pharmaceuticals used during the
reporting period.
3) Losses/Adjustments: Losses are the quantities of products removed
from your stock for anything other than the provision of services to
patients or issue to another facility (e.g., expiry, lost, theft, or damage).
• Adjustments are quantities of a product received from any source other
than EPSS, or issued to anyone other than your health facility.
• An adjustment may also be a correction due to an error in mathematics.
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Table 1: Some LMIS recording and reporting formats with their
purpose
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1.2.2. Inventory Control System
• To inform personnel when and how much of a pharmaceutical to order
and to maintain an appropriate stock level to meet the needs of patients.
• A well-designed and well-operated inventory control system helps to
prevent shortages, oversupply, and expiry of pharmaceuticals.
• Help to maintain adequate stock levels, maximum months of stock,
minimum months of stock and an emergency order point
Maximum months of stock: - Is the largest amount of each
pharmaceutical a facility have on stock at any one time.
• If a facility has more than the maximum, it is overstocked and risk of
expire
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• Minimum months of stock: - Is the level of stock at which actions to
replenish inventory should occur, under normal conditions.
• Emergency order point: - Is the level where the risk of stocking out
is likely, and an emergency order is placed.
• The inventory control system for the IPLS is a Forced Ordering
Maximum/Minimum inventory control system(all facilities are
required to report on a fixed schedule for all products supplied by
EPSS and are re-supplied each time a report is completed).
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Public and private health centers and hospitals are report and order
every two months to EPSS hubs,
Health posts and private health facilities report data monthly to their
affiliated Health centers
If the stock on hand for any product at a facility falls below a set
emergency order point before the end of the reporting period, an
emergency order should be placed.
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Table 2 The maximum months of stock, the minimum months of stock and
emergency order points for different levels of Health facilities
1.2.3. Storing pharmaceuticals -Storing is the safe keeping of
pharmaceuticals to avoid damage, expiry, and theft.
• Storage conditions will affect the quality of the pharmaceuticals being
stored.
• A well-organized storeroom will simplify a facility‘s work, saves the
spaces and the times that will be wasted in finding needed supplies.
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1.3. Pharmaceuticals and information flow in IPLS
Direct delivery sites are facilities that receive program
pharmaceuticals directly from EPSS hubs.
For direct delivery facilities, a combined report and requisition form
is completed by health centers and hospitals and sent to EPSS hubs.
The health center order includes the pharmaceutical requirements of
the health posts and private clinics.
non-direct delivery sites are health centers that receive products from
EPSS hubs through Woreda Health Offices (WoHOs).
For non-direct delivery facilities, a combined report and requisition
form completed by individual health centers is collected and sent to
EPSS hubs by WoHos.
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A copy of the health center’s RRF, and a copy of each health posts’ and
private clinics’ reports should sent to the Woreda Health Office for
management and supervision purposes.
A copy of the hospital’s RRF should sent to the respective unit management
and supervision purposes.
Figure 1 Flow of pharmaceutical products and information in IPLS
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The overall information system also includes a mechanism for providing
feedback. The feedback reports, be able to facilitate stock transfer. For
instance, Woreda or EPSS Hub: Give feedback report to all of the
health centers showing the stock status of priority products (vital
pharmaceuticals), number of stock outs, reporting rate, and
consumptions trend in the different health centers. They should also
provide specific reports to health centers pointing out errors in their
reports.
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