Logistics management provides greater efficiency, governance and compliance

During the 2020 Congress of the Italian Society of Hospital Pharmacy (Sifo 2020), there was a heated debate about whether it is more convenient to dispense healthcare directly in hospitals and public facilities, or indirectly, through the use of external private pharmacies. The former solution is called direct dispensing (DD), while the latter is called dispensing on commission (DPC). The strengths and advantages of DD over DPC are many: greater therapeutic appropriateness due to direct control of treatment plans, cost savings from external commissions, and greater clinical sharing of treatment by all healthcare personnel. The main weakness is the organization of a complex warehouse. As the number of chronic patients and advanced therapies increases, direct care requires a new structure and logistics system to manage large administrative, accounting, and information flows. The purpose of this article is to compare the two logistic models implemented in Italy in order to structure a computerized model that can increase the efficiency of the National Health System (NHS).

Automated summary

Direct dispensing (DD) has many advantages over dispensing on commission (DPC), including greater therapeutic appropriateness and cost savings. However, a complex warehouse organization is a major challenge for DD. With the increase in chronic patients and advanced therapies, direct care requires a new structure and logistics system.