VIJAYAWADA: The State government has announced sweeping reforms in the drug supply system for government hospitals, aimed at ensuring uninterrupted availability of essential medicines.
Health Minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav said purchases, distribution, and delivery to patients will be reviewed by a special agency, with a fresh look at the Essential Medicine List (EML) and Additional Medicine List (AML).
The Minister explained that unnecessary drugs will be removed and new, relevant combinations added, based on inputs from doctors, pharmacists, and hospital superintendents. He stressed the need for stronger coordination between physicians and pharmacists to improve efficiency.
During a high-level review meeting at the Secretariat, officials discussed shortages and delays in supply. The Minister directed that medicines under national health programmes should be supplied directly from the Central Drug Store to hospitals, bypassing district offices, to avoid delays. Hospitals will be required to record local purchases on E-Aushadhi portal for transparency.
Health Secretary Saurabh Gaur (virtually) said prescriptions will be audited, and hospitals will be able to check online the availability of medicines in other facilities, enabling adjustments.
Details of shortages at central stores will also be made available online. Officials from the AP Medical Services & Infrastructure Development Corporation (APMSIDC) reported that out of 712 medicines listed, 176 types are not being supplied due to low demand.
For example, tenders for Betaxolol (eye drops) and Tacrolimus (skin cream) were not taken up, while no bids were received for Methylprednisolone injections. In such cases, hospitals are resorting to local purchases under decentralised procurement. Current stock levels show 177 medicines sufficient for three months, 84 types for 2–3 months, 80 types for 1–2 months, and 178 types for one month. Seventeen medicines are completely unavailable. Officials said 380 medicines worth Rs 71.12 crore have been procured and will soon be supplied to hospitals.
This marks a significant step toward modernising the state’s medical supply chain, with the minister assuring that another 380 varieties of medicines will be supplied soon to strengthen hospital inventories.
