| Themes | National Drug Policy | Rational Drug Use | Essential Drugs | Access to Drugs | Procurement | Pricing | Supply Systems | Regulation | Monitoring and Quality Assurance | Counterfeiting, Diversion, Corruption | Role of the Private Sector | Pharmaceutical Research and Development | Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Most essential drugs are commodities manufactured by various originator and generics companies. In order to maximize existing financial resources in terms of quantity and quality, procurement of pharmaceuticals should be done in a way that allows for the best possible bargaining position, while at the same time making sure that the product is meeting internationally accepted quality standards. Typically, governments of countries that provide pharmaceuticals as part of the public health service establish a central procurement agency that pools orders and purchases through a tender system. Similarly, there can be procurement pools in the private and NGO sector, sometimes collaborating with the national procurement agency. The efficiency of a specific procurement policy depends not only on the agency and its processes itself, but also on the downstream logistics and supply system: If centrally procured drugs end up in a warehouse that becomes a bottleneck for further distribution, a de-centralized system may have better overall efficiency.
For further study
Interagency guidelines for procurement
http://www.who.int/medicines/library/par/who-edm-par-99-5/who-edm-par-99-5.shtml WHO practical guide for countries with small procurement agencies
http://www.wpro.who.int/pdf/PHA/Practical_guidelines.pdf
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