A Pilot Study on the Assessment of the Knowledge, Practice, and Challenges of Pharmaceutical Inventory Management among Community Pharmacists

Abstract

Pharmacies and related supplies must always be available at the required location, in the requisite amount, and with the necessary quality for health facilities to offer comprehensive care. Efficient inventory management improves pharmaceutical product profitability by reducing procurement costs and preventing long-term storage, while poor inventory management hinders essential drug availability. The current study aims to assess the knowledge, practice, and challenges in applying inventory management methods. A mixed-method study design with sampling techniques of purposive and snowball methods was used. A semi-structured questionnaire was implemented for quantitative data and an open-ended question was employed to explore more information as qualitative data. The collected qualitative data were transcribed and identified as five major themes knowledge about inventory management, challenges faced by pharmacists in managing inventory, purchasing methods, stocking, and expiry, and the purpose of inventory control management. Most pharmacists employ the inventory management method based on their experience and the customer needs. Among the basic inventory management tools like ABC, VED, FSN, or XYZ, the use of VED and FSN methods for purchasing and stocking is high. It is noted that they lack professional training but gained more knowledge and skills through the experience. When they were asked about the inventory control methods, about 70% of them were not aware, and of those who said yes 20 % were able to answer at least 1 method and 10 % were not able to correctly mention the name. To conclude the pharmacist should start considering the modern methods along with the current methods for effective marginal profit and competitive management of the pharmacies.