Contemporary Perspective on Supply Chain Management Regarding Drug Sourcing Shortages

Introduction

Safeguarding the supply of drugs and satisfying the needs of patients when it comes to quantity, quality, cost, and accessibility is a strategic priority of any health care system priorities (Abdollahiasl, Nikfar, Kebriaeezadeh, Dinarvand, Abdollahi, Jaberidoost and Cheraghali, 2014). Pharmaceuticals represent a large portion of the costs in the healthcare industry due to the significant costs of these products and their storage and control requirements (Kelle, Woosley, and Schneider, 2012). The pharmaceutical supply chain is subject to many threats leading to deteriorating treasured resources and the disruption of available drugs resulting in the growing problem of shortages. Drug shortage is a condition in which the supply of all clinically alternative versions of controlled drugs is insufficient to meet the current or estimated demand at the user levels, which are patients (Gu, Wertheimer, Brown and Shaya, 2011). In addition, in 2010, 211 newly reported drug shortages tripled the amount in 2006, with almost 75% being sterile injectable (Gu, et al., 2011). In many healthcare practice settings, the shortage is prevalent and affects nearly all the classes, with the most critical ones are surgical and being affected the most (Ventola, 2011). Moreover, the quality use of medicines is a key factor in achieving positive health outcomes. Evidence indicates significant scope for improvement in the use of drugs for hospitalized patients (Dooley, Allen, Doecke, Galbraith, Taylor, Bright, and Carey, 2004). However, drug shortages and supply inefficiencies create obstacles for hospital management and also patients being serviced well. Further, these pandemic times shed light on a number of systemic and organizational challenges linked to supply chain management, including sustainability, supply chain skills and risk management, thus putting much of the taken-for-granted knowledge on supply chain management to the test (Baporikar, 2021; Bals, Schulze, Kelly, and Stek, 2019). Aspects such as sourcing, resilience, public procurement, and sustainable development have emerged as consequential topics for supply chain management (Pettit, Croxton, and Fiksel, 2019), which are critical and relevant to drug sourcing.

A drug shortage is a deficiency in the supply of medicines or products that affect the ability of a patient to get the required treatment in due time (Pauwels, Huys, Casteels and Simeons, 2015). The roots of drug shortages are multifaceted and varied. The problem can either be due to the supply or demand (Bateman, 2013). However, the situation affects almost every stakeholder in the health care system, so collaboration is required to handle or reduce shortages. It is also possible to affect the amount of work, important decisions and financial impact if not be anticipated on time (Pauwels, et al.2015). Burns (2002) examined the healthcare value chain. In addition, Pitta and Laric (2004), provide a model of the healthcare value and supply chains which helps to change the focus from individual transactions to a more comprehensive view of the entire system. This supply chain is not linear or sequential in nature but closely follows the flow of information through the system. Public expectation of quality healthcare and the burgeoning costs of more sophisticated and expensive medical interventions has been a great cause of worry and deliberation the world over (Böhme, Williams, Childerhouse, Deakins and Towill, 2013). Governments worldwide attempt regulation of such services, often through a philosophy of New Public Management which Hood (1995) defines as the lessening of differences between the public and private sectors by shifting the emphasis away from process accountability and towards outcomes.