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COMPUTERISATION OF THE REQUEST MANAGEMENT OF MEDICAL PRODUCTS UNDER SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES

European Statement

Selection, Procurement and Distribution

Author(s)

A. Navarro Ruíz, A. Martínez Valero, R. Gutiérrez Vozmediano, A. Andújar Mateos, A. Martí Lorca, I. Jiménez Pulido

Why was it done?

The purpose was to increase the efficiency of this management process involving a high workload due in part to the absence of information.

What was done?

In Spain, the availability of drugs under special circumstances is regulated by the Spanish Royal Decree 1015/2009 of 20 June, which established three instances: (1) use of investigational medicinal product undergoing a clinical trial, (2) use of medical products for a medical purpose not in accordance with the authorised product information (off-label use) and (3) access to unauthorised medicines in our state but which are legally marketed in other states. Also, each region has its own regulatory system for medicines. In the pharmacy department, we have developed a software application for managing requests for medicinal products in the situations described above, and in accordance with our region’s regulations. It is organised in different sections that collect patients, prescribing physician details, medicinal products and diagnostic information. It has restricted access through user accounts and a menu for multiple search parameters.

How was it done?

In the pre-design phase, we held individual meetings with pharmaceutical and administrative staff involved in this process to identify their specific needs and priorities, and to assess these once the software application was created. The database management system used for the development of the computer application was Microsoft Access 2003. Once finished, it was tested for 2 months to help pinpoint specific errors and improvement opportunities.

What has been achieved?

Computerisation of this process has improved the efficiency in requests management, facilitating the use of information, increasing speed and reliability, allowing the possibility of analysing large volumes of data, providing greater confidentiality and increasing security through backups.

What next?

The next step will be to assess the usefulness of this software application using a satisfaction survey. To incorporate this initiative into other hospitals in our area requires only compatible software able to run the application.To extend its use to other regions would need adaptation of this software application to the existing regulations in each region.

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