Pharmaceutical Management, Pharmacoeconomics, and Supply Chain
Management and pharmacoeconomics questions are numerical and procedural: quantify need, buy at the right time, and justify the choice with cost and outcome data.
Tools
- ABC analysis ranks items by value; VEN classifies by clinical priority (vital, essential, non-essential). Combine them: a vital, high-value item deserves the tightest control.
- Forecasting: consumption method (past use adjusted for trend) or morbidity method (cases × standard treatment × units per course).
- Inventory: reorder point = (average daily consumption × lead time) + safety stock; EOQ balances ordering against holding cost.
- Economic evaluation: cost-minimisation for equal outcomes, cost-effectiveness, cost-utility (cost per QALY), cost-benefit. ICER = (C1 − C2)/(E1 − E2).
Worked example
A clinic uses 40 vials/day; supplier lead time is 30 days; safety stock is 400 vials. ROP = (40 × 30) + 400 = 1,600 vials. Ordering below this risks a stock-out. Compare two regimens: A costs 1,000,000 MNT and yields 0.80 QALY; B costs 1,600,000 MNT and yields 1.00 QALY. ICER = (1,600,000 − 1,000,000)/(1.00 − 0.80) = 600,000/0.20 = 3,000,000 MNT per QALY, judged against the payer's threshold.
Traps
Comparing unit price instead of total cost of therapy; ignoring wastage and expiry; forgetting that a dominated option must be removed before calculating an ICER; buying on price alone when lead time and reliability decide availability.