On a single click of a button, the dashboard, which is updated in real-time by the states, shows data on the number of drugs available in the Essential Drug List (EDL) of a particular state's health facilities.
In order to make free drug supply more robust in states, the Union Health Ministry is now monitoring the drug situation in nine states through a digital dashboard.
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Gujarat and Jammu & Kashmir are part of the Drugs and Vaccines Distribution Management System (DVDMS) pilot project, which cooperates with the Health Ministry in keeping a close watch on their drug stocks and supplies.
"Earlier it was impossible to know whether a certain drug was available in a particular hospital or primary health centre in a state, or whether the state has enough stocks of a drug, or when will the drugs expire, the dashboard makes it possible," said a senior Health Ministry official.
On a single click of a button, the dashboard, which is updated in real-time by the states, shows data on the number of drugs available in the Essential Drug List (EDL) of a particular state's health facilities. While Maharashtra has the highest number — 637 drugs — Punjab has only 217 drugs enlisted in EDL. "Such disparities are easy to catch through the data captured," said the official.
"The data is useful to shift medicines from one location to another. If a certain location is out of a drug while the other location has an over-supply, it can easily be transferred. It will also increase capacity of the states to utilise medicines, provided they pro-actively participate in the project," said Union Health Minister JP Nadda.
One can also compare prices of drugs as procured by the states. For example, a rate of procurement of Azithromycin, an antibiotic, in Andhra Pradesh is Rs 7.342 per tablet as compared to Madhya Pradesh which is procuring it at Rs 3.984 per tablet. "Such price differences are huge. Disparities will come to light, and we can write to the state to correct situations where prices of procurement may be high," the official said.
When a particular drug's name is clicked pertaining to a state, the dashboard shows the drug's availability in quantity, it's cumulative worth in rupees and date of expiry of the stock in a particular health facility be it a district hospital, a community or a primary health centre.
"It is an advanced analytical tool to prevent wastage of drugs. We can see state-wise list of drug expiry. At the moment, we know the break-up of a list of 449 drugs worth over Rs 4.5 crores, which are due to expire within next thirty days in nine states," said the official.
There is still a long way to go. "We are striving to improve last mile connectivity. This can only happen when pharmacists right uptil the health sub-centre levels update data digitally. At the moment, they are sending paper reports at district level, from where the dashboard gets updated. When last mile connectivity is achieved, we will also be able to keep a track as to whether medicines are being dispensed properly to the masses. As of now, we only keep a track of drug stocks," the official said.
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