Govt moves to digitise drug delivery system
In this photo handout taken on an unspecified date, NMS General Manager Moses Kamabare is seen showing the IG's staff technology tools used to monitor delivery of drugs across Uganda. PHOTO/COURTESY
What you need to know:
- Training for the digitisation process was piloted in seven health facilities last month and has already covered more than 150 others countrywide.
The government is phasing out manual orders for drugs in a bid to address delays and other hitches in the distribution chain.
This was revealed by the general manager for National Medical Stores (NMS), Mr Moses Kamabare, on Tuesday at the launch of the digitisation of the drug orders under a system dubbed ‘NMS Plus.’
Mr Kamabare said the new system is intended to streamline delivery of drugs in public health facilities across the country and foster accountability.
“We have been getting orders in hard copies from the health facilities, which take long; sometimes they get lost on the way.
When they get here, we have to feed them again in our system. We talked to the American government and they were so gracious and gave us the NMS + app, which is costing us about $10 million (about Shs35b),” he said.
Mr Kamabare said the app will enable the health facilities to place orders for drugs from the comfort of their offices.
“Secondly, when these orders reach here, health facilities will be able to monitor the progress of their orders through NMS processes from reception, picking from the warehouse, loading and delivery,” he said.
Mr Kamabare said training for the digitisation process was piloted in seven health facilities last month and has already covered more than 150 others countrywide. He said they expect to cover all 268 health facilities, which are in phase one from health centre IV upwards by June 15.
“We are going to turn on the system from July 1, there won’t be a health centre IV that will be sending us their orders in hard copies; if you don’t use this system, we will not be able to process your order,” he said.
Mr Kamabare said digitising the order system for the health centre IIIs will be carried out in the second phase, while that of health centre IIs will be in phase three.
The administrator of Katabi Military Hospital, Mr Alfonse Ochom, said he hopes the digitisation of the order process will address the long time taken to deliver drug consignments to the hospitals.
The programme officer-in-charge of logistics at the UPDF Directorate of HIV/Aids, Capt Roland Mugasha, welcomed the new digital system.
“Previously, delivery of drugs could delay along the way, others were not brought as per the orders, but with the new system, whatever is delivered, is done directly by NMS on time,” he said.
