Pharmaceutical Management Information Systems: A Sustainable Computing Paradigm in the Pharmaceutical Industry and Public Health Management

Abstract

A nation’s capacity to effectively discuss its public health interest in a timely manner is directly related to the careful management of pharmaceuticals. Pharmaceutical products include biological drugs, vaccines, small molecules, biological samples, and diagnostic tools. These products are often costly to manufacture, acquire, and disperse, but the deficit or improper use of medication and purchase of low-quality medicines can prove expensive in terms of preventable mortality and wasted resources. The international market for pharmaceutical products hit $1.2 trillion in 2018 and the international spending on pharmaceuticals is predicted to hit $1.5 trillion by 2023. Increase in funding for malaria, tuberculosis, AIDS, and various other public health programs has necessitated accurate information on a variety of parameters. This makes the effective management of the supply and manufacturing processes in pharmaceutical companies even more necessary and important. Pharmaceutical Management Information Systems (PMIS) are critical in attaining this objective. PMIS is an organized system that can be utilized for effectively collecting, analyzing, and reporting information, which can be used for making decisions regarding the pharmaceuticals at all stages of the management pyramid. The key players in the flow of knowledge, information, and services in the pharmaceutical industry are the suppliers, pharmaceutical companies, clients, including the government and nonprofit organizations, distribution channels, and the consumers or patients. Data is routinely collected and processed at each stage utilizing an efficient information management infrastructure. This required the collaboration of healthcare providers, program managers, and policy makers. A PMIS monitors the information regarding the patient’s adherence and safety, medication dosage parameters, drug effectiveness, drug resistance, medicine inventory and the laboratory’s stock of supplies, post marketing intelligence, the quality of the product, budgeting, resource mobilization and procurement planning, accurate quantification, product registration, and program management. A supply chain management system is specifically used in order to optimize the control of the inventory and to reduce the cost of handling the materials. This chapter is a comprehensive study of the design of Pharmaceutical Management Information Systems, policies and legislation, specific strategies like radio-frequency identification (RFID), Electronic Product Code (EPC) and cold supply chain employed by PMIS, illustrative case studies to demonstrate the application PMIS in various healthcare programs, and the impact it can have in improving the standard of public health in developing countries. Large-scale implementation of PMIS has the potential to revolutionize the pharmaceutical industry and patient care by assisting in the formulation of innovative solutions to tackle various public health care concerns. PMIS is thus an efficient and sustainable computing paradigm with lasting benefits to the society, particularly in underprivileged communities.