State Pharma has introduced a digital system that allows the state-owned pharmaceutical company to monitor medicine availability across all of its pharmacies in real time, as it works to build a more reliable national pharmaceutical supply network.
Managing Director Dr Shah Mahir said the system provides State Pharma with an up-to-date picture of medicine stocks at its pharmacies across Malé and the atolls, allowing the company to better coordinate procurement and distribution based on actual demand and availability.
The next stage will take that information directly to patients.
State Pharma is working to make medicine availability publicly accessible within the next two months, allowing people to check where required medicines are available before visiting a pharmacy.
The development addresses what the company had identified last year as one of the biggest challenges affecting medicine availability in the Maldives: the absence of a centralised system showing stock levels across pharmacies in different parts of the country.
Speaking to PSM News, Dr Mahir said State Pharma’s wider objective is to establish a sustainable mechanism through which essential medicines can be supplied throughout the country without prolonged interruptions.
Using stock data to plan medicine imports
Beyond showing where medicines are currently available, the new system is expected to help State Pharma make longer-term procurement decisions.
The company is analysing stock levels and consumption requirements to place annual orders in advance, while coordinating import arrangements with pharmaceutical suppliers.
State Pharma has already signed agreements with three pharmaceutical companies, with negotiations underway for additional supplier partnerships.
Advance procurement is particularly important in the Maldives because virtually all pharmaceutical products have to be imported, leaving medicine availability exposed to international supply disruptions, shipping schedules and procurement delays.
State Pharma has been working to diversify its international supplier network as part of efforts to strengthen supply security. The company recently signed a distributorship agreement with Pakistan-based Hiranis Pharmaceuticals, adding another manufacturer to its pharmaceutical sourcing network.
Work is also underway to establish the storage infrastructure needed to maintain adequate medicine reserves, while State Pharma is pursuing bulk procurement of required medicines.
The company is additionally working to establish pharmacies within hospitals, bringing medicine distribution closer to patients receiving treatment at healthcare facilities.
Pharmacies to help patients locate medicines
State Pharma also plans to strengthen the way pharmacy staff respond when a prescribed medicine is unavailable at a particular outlet.
Under the planned system, staff will be able to check stock elsewhere and direct patients to another location where the medicine is available.
If the required medicine is found to be unavailable throughout the country, the pharmacy will initiate an expedited order based on the prescription, according to the company.
Staff training is being planned alongside these changes to ensure employees are able to use the system and assist customers in locating medicines more effectively.
State Pharma has also introduced the 24-hour hotline 1505, which can be accessed from across the Maldives for enquiries relating to medicines.
The combination of real-time inventory monitoring, advance procurement and improved communication with patients is intended to address a longstanding challenge in the country’s healthcare system.
Medicine shortages can be particularly difficult in the Maldives because of its dispersed geography. Maintaining supplies across dozens of islands requires not only sufficient national stocks but also effective distribution to pharmacies and healthcare facilities outside the capital.
A medicine may therefore be available nationally while remaining difficult for a patient to locate, making visibility of stocks across different pharmacies an important part of improving access.
State Pharma is approaching its first anniversary after spending the past year working on measures intended to address weaknesses in pharmaceutical procurement, storage and distribution.
Dr Mahir said the company expects these initiatives to produce a positive change in the country’s medicine supply situation by the middle of next year, as new procurement arrangements, storage facilities and distribution mechanisms are progressively put in place.
