Supply Chain Management Perspective on Shortages in Drugs Sourcing

Drug supply shortages globally make hospitals vulnerable. It effects service delivery and patient satisfaction apart from endangering lives. Further, drug sourcing to ensure supply to satisfy patients' needs is a strategic priority for any health care system in any country. Katutura hospital and Namibia is no exception. However, frequent drug shortages have created difficulty in ensuring patients get prescribed medication. Adopting a descriptive research design, pharmacists, and nurses were surveyed and 22 questionnaires were distributed out of which 21 (95%) responded in full. The main objective of this study was to identify the causes of the drug supply shortage from a supply chain perspective and suggest strategies to deal with the shortage in an optimum manner. The findings reveal supply chain disruption, management inefficiencies, are inadequate inventory management are some of the main causes for drug supply shortage resulting in difficulties and inefficiencies for proper drug delivery and supply.