A study to carry out always better control and vital, essential, and desirable analysis in the dispensary of a tertiary care teaching hospital

Introduction: Due to the advancement of medical technology, it is difficult to monitor the vast inventory in hospitals. Thirty-three percentage of the hospital operating budget are spent on buying materials and supplies. Out of all the inventory control measures, Always better control (ABC) and Vital, essential, and desirable (VED) are the most used inventory control techniques. The present study was conducted at a tertiary care specialty hospital to study drug management through the application of inventory control techniques. Aim and Objectives: The present study aimed at studying the drug management system by application of ABC and VED analysis and to give recommendations for an efficient inventory management system. Materials and Methods: It was an observational study conducted at the dispensary of a tertiary care teaching hospital. The data of annual consumption and expenditure incurred on each item of the dispensary for the fiscal year 2021–2022 were collected. The annual expenditure of individual items was arranged in descending order. The cumulative cost percentage and the cumulative percentage of number of items were calculated, and the list was then categorized into three subdivisions: A, B, and C categories. For classifying drugs into VED, inputs from the concerned clinicians were sought. Data were analyzed using statistical tools of MS Excel. ABC-VED matrix was formed to couple the items into various categories and groups so that managers can efficiently monitor them. Results: Of the 291 items used, 15% of the items were A items which need strict monitoring by the top-level management as they are the costliest. VED analysis revealed 37% of the items as vital which should be present at all times in the hospital and are inescapable requirements. ABC-VED matrix analysis showed 10% of the items as A items from ABC and vital items from VED (AV) items which are costly and should be present at all times at the hospital, thereby demanding strict managerial control. Conclusion: Using inventory control techniques, substantial improvement could be brought about in patient care by ensuring the uninterrupted availability of vital and essential medicines all the time. It can also be used to identify drugs that require stringent control for the optimal use of financial resources and the elimination of out-of-stock conditions at the dispensary.