Assessment of pharmaceutical inventory management in an Indonesian district health office: A pioneer study during the Covid-19 pandemic

Background: Pharmaceutical inventory management (PIM) is important for efficient budgeting and cost control of medicines. This is particularly critical for local health offices in Indonesia, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Objective: To assess the PIM in the Gunungkidul health office in Indonesia. Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study evaluating inventory data was conducted between January and May 2022. Data obtained from 2019 to 2021 were triangulated with other data from the Ministry of Health and public health centres in Gunungkidul. Results: The availability of medicine items as compared to the national formulary was 95% (2019), 94% (2020), and 90% (2021), respectively. Purchasing budget was achieved at 96% (2019), 87% (2020), and over 120% (2021), respectively. The Inventory Turnover Ratio was between 1.23 and 1.49. The shortage of medicine occurs at a minimum rate of 15% per year. This was in contrast with overstocking at 35% for a particular medicine. Expired medicine was found at the rate of 8% (2019), 5% (2020), and 13%(2021) respectively. Conclusion: The Covid-19 pandemic has presented significant challenges in the pharmaceutical inventory management in Gunungkidul as indicated by irregularities in the planning and procurement trajectories. The inability to anticipate crises due to the pandemic has contributed to poor management of pharmaceuticals.