Medicines Wastage and Its Contributing Factors in Public Health Facilities of South Gondar Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia
Muluneh Guadie,1 Mulusew Andualem Asemahagn,2 Abekyelesh Tefera,3 Wondim Melkam,4 Habtemariam Alekaw Habteweld,5 Dagninet Derebe4 1Department of Regional Regulatory Offices, Amhara Health Bureau, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia; 2School of Public Health, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia; 3Department of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Dove Medical Press
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Integrated Pharmacy Research and Practice |
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| Online Access: | https://www.dovepress.com/medicines-wastage-and-its-contributing-factors-in-public-health-facili-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-IPRP |
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| author | Guadie M Asemahagn MA Tefera A Melkam W Habteweld HA Derebe D |
| author_facet | Guadie M Asemahagn MA Tefera A Melkam W Habteweld HA Derebe D |
| author_sort | Guadie M |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Muluneh Guadie,1 Mulusew Andualem Asemahagn,2 Abekyelesh Tefera,3 Wondim Melkam,4 Habtemariam Alekaw Habteweld,5 Dagninet Derebe4 1Department of Regional Regulatory Offices, Amhara Health Bureau, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia; 2School of Public Health, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia; 3Department of Pharmacy, GAMBY Medical and Business College, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia; 4Department of Pharmacy, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia; 5Department of Pharmacy, Debre Berhan University, Debre Berhan, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Dagninet Derebe, Email dagninet37@yahoo.comBackground: In developing countries like Ethiopia, medicines wastage becomes a major healthcare system challenge. However, data that displayed the type, extent, and contributing factors of medicines wastage were limited.Methods: A health facility-based explanatory sequential mixed study was conducted from December 2021 to February 2022. One drug and therapeutics committee (DTC) and one store man per health facility, working during the study period were included for their perception of medicines wastage and possible causes. As key informants, 1 Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and 1pharmacy head were also included per facility. In total, 80 participants were included in this study. The quantitative data to determine the magnitude of medicine wastage were collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 25.Results: The overall medicines wastage in the three consecutive years was 6.3%. The trend over the three years indicated that medicines wastage is 6.5%, 5.9%, and 6.5% in 2011, 2012, and 2013 Ethiopian Fiscal Year (EFY), respectively. The medicine wastage rate has been increasing nearly by 3% between 2011/2012 and 2012/2013. The main sources of wastage of medicines were expiry (99.3%). The perceived reasons for such medicine’s wastage were near-expiry medicines (< 6 months) being delivered to the health facilities by suppliers, poor communication and coordination with key stakeholders, and the presence of overstocked medicines due to improper forecasting of need in the facilities.Conclusion: There is an excessive rate of medicines wastage which needs immediate mitigation by exchanging nearly expired medicines with other health facilities, communicating with suppliers and even prescribers, using auditable pharmaceutical transactions and services (APTS), providing continuous training, pursuing quality and safety medicines reuse scheme, implementation of pharmacist waste-reducing activities in all stages of the pharmaceutical supply chain, reducing medication amounts in stock, and through the use of electronic stock management tools.Keywords: medicines wastage, contributing factors, public health facilities |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T21:55:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4fad3e958c954d379317e36d68e743f0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2230-5254 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T21:55:03Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Dove Medical Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Integrated Pharmacy Research and Practice |
| spelling | doaj.art-4fad3e958c954d379317e36d68e743f02023-07-25T19:04:50ZengDove Medical PressIntegrated Pharmacy Research and Practice2230-52542023-07-01Volume 1215717085429Medicines Wastage and Its Contributing Factors in Public Health Facilities of South Gondar Zone, Amhara Regional State, EthiopiaGuadie MAsemahagn MATefera AMelkam WHabteweld HADerebe DMuluneh Guadie,1 Mulusew Andualem Asemahagn,2 Abekyelesh Tefera,3 Wondim Melkam,4 Habtemariam Alekaw Habteweld,5 Dagninet Derebe4 1Department of Regional Regulatory Offices, Amhara Health Bureau, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia; 2School of Public Health, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia; 3Department of Pharmacy, GAMBY Medical and Business College, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia; 4Department of Pharmacy, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia; 5Department of Pharmacy, Debre Berhan University, Debre Berhan, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Dagninet Derebe, Email dagninet37@yahoo.comBackground: In developing countries like Ethiopia, medicines wastage becomes a major healthcare system challenge. However, data that displayed the type, extent, and contributing factors of medicines wastage were limited.Methods: A health facility-based explanatory sequential mixed study was conducted from December 2021 to February 2022. One drug and therapeutics committee (DTC) and one store man per health facility, working during the study period were included for their perception of medicines wastage and possible causes. As key informants, 1 Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and 1pharmacy head were also included per facility. In total, 80 participants were included in this study. The quantitative data to determine the magnitude of medicine wastage were collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 25.Results: The overall medicines wastage in the three consecutive years was 6.3%. The trend over the three years indicated that medicines wastage is 6.5%, 5.9%, and 6.5% in 2011, 2012, and 2013 Ethiopian Fiscal Year (EFY), respectively. The medicine wastage rate has been increasing nearly by 3% between 2011/2012 and 2012/2013. The main sources of wastage of medicines were expiry (99.3%). The perceived reasons for such medicine’s wastage were near-expiry medicines (< 6 months) being delivered to the health facilities by suppliers, poor communication and coordination with key stakeholders, and the presence of overstocked medicines due to improper forecasting of need in the facilities.Conclusion: There is an excessive rate of medicines wastage which needs immediate mitigation by exchanging nearly expired medicines with other health facilities, communicating with suppliers and even prescribers, using auditable pharmaceutical transactions and services (APTS), providing continuous training, pursuing quality and safety medicines reuse scheme, implementation of pharmacist waste-reducing activities in all stages of the pharmaceutical supply chain, reducing medication amounts in stock, and through the use of electronic stock management tools.Keywords: medicines wastage, contributing factors, public health facilitieshttps://www.dovepress.com/medicines-wastage-and-its-contributing-factors-in-public-health-facili-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-IPRPmedicines wastagecontributing factorspublic health facilities |
| spellingShingle | Guadie M Asemahagn MA Tefera A Melkam W Habteweld HA Derebe D Medicines Wastage and Its Contributing Factors in Public Health Facilities of South Gondar Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia Integrated Pharmacy Research and Practice medicines wastage contributing factors public health facilities |
| title | Medicines Wastage and Its Contributing Factors in Public Health Facilities of South Gondar Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia |
| title_full | Medicines Wastage and Its Contributing Factors in Public Health Facilities of South Gondar Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia |
| title_fullStr | Medicines Wastage and Its Contributing Factors in Public Health Facilities of South Gondar Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Medicines Wastage and Its Contributing Factors in Public Health Facilities of South Gondar Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia |
| title_short | Medicines Wastage and Its Contributing Factors in Public Health Facilities of South Gondar Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia |
| title_sort | medicines wastage and its contributing factors in public health facilities of south gondar zone amhara regional state ethiopia |
| topic | medicines wastage contributing factors public health facilities |
| url | https://www.dovepress.com/medicines-wastage-and-its-contributing-factors-in-public-health-facili-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-IPRP |
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