Community Development Medicinal Unit

	Rational Pharmaceutical Management
	Promotion
	Drug information
	Projects

Rational pharmaceutical management

Rational medicine use demands that patients receive medication appropriate to their clinical needs, in doses that meet their individual requirements, for appropriate lengths of time, and at the lowest possible cost to themselves and the community. Achievement of rational medicine use therefore calls for considerable knowledge and skills. While clinical knowledge and skills are extremely important, the overall goal can only be met through dedicated teamwork where some members of the team must be knowledgeable about and skilled in the difficult tasks of selection, procurement, storage and distribution of drugs.
Selection

Selection in conformity to WHO and national essential medicines lists CDMU Pharmaceutical Committee comprises of eminent physicians, clinicians, social workers. The list is attached.

Meets regularly to finalize list of essential medicines and medical supplies to procure and stock during the operational year.

Invites quotations for bulk purchase of listed items from pharmaceutical manufacturer and distributors The Pharmaceutical Committee selects medicine on the basis of

Appropriate strength and dosage forms

Affordable price [to the member organizations]

Assured quality

Adequate information

Past performance of suppliers

>> List of medicines [Part A]

>> List of medicines [Part B]

Storage

Storage are located in HO [partially air conditioned] and Siliguri.

FEFO methods are followed

Visual inspection of packaging cartoons, labels, dosage form strips / vial / ampoules

Special storage conditions [e.g. cold chain] maintained

Quality assurance

Insist on valid manufacturing / distribution license from all suppliers

Insist on quality certification document [of the drug control authority of the state / central government] from the suppliers pertaining to their capacity to manufacture / sale of a particular products

Send samples received from suppliers to government approved laboratories

Supplier had to submit test report with every batch of supply

Receive feedback from member organizations regarding the quality of the products supplied, review these at pharmaceutical committee meeting and take remedial actions accordingly.

>> Supply of medicines

>> Ordering form

>> Ordering medicines with requisition form

Promotion

CDMU, ever since its inception as an independent body, has been striving to promote the concept of rational therapeutics in the country. Its low-cost drug supply project helps the voluntary sector to procure rational medicinal supplies at reasonable prices and thereby allows poor people of different communities to obtain drugs at affordable cost. Side by side, for the safe, effective and prudent use of essential medicines, CDMU makes available relevant and reliable information through personal visit with the administrators, doctors, pharmacist of the member organizations. The member organizations are benefited in the following ways:

To help both CDMU and its member organizations [the care deliverers and the administrative / management personnel] manage their essential medicines programs more efficiently.

To acquaint the doctors, pharmacists or other health workers engaged in healthcare delivery and the key administrative personnel of the MOs with the concepts of essential drugs, of rational use of medicines and of drug supply management system.

To create awareness among the people [the ultimate beneficiary] about the concepts of rational use of drugs and make them participate in the campaign program for essential drugs and rational use of drugs.

To make the member organizations appreciate the need and relevance of integrating components of quality assurance and drug information management in the ED program and generate interest in them to welcome marginal escalation of user fees to ensure the same.

Provision of drug information

The CDMU Documentation Centre in Calcutta was started in the early 1990s as the academic wing of CDMU. This center is equipped with a reference library and a multimedia PC system with Internet connection. The library has a modest but growing collection of books, journals, press clippings, etc. Valuable reference books on the subject of drugs and therapeutics (e.g. Martindale: The Extra Pharmacopoeia, British National Formulary, Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine) are available. The library is open to all. Regular users are requested to become members of the library at nominal charges. One of the principal aims of the Documentation Centre is to provide impartial drug information to all sections of the community. Information seekers are encouraged to come and visit the center. Resource persons attached to the center can reply to queries on drug related matters. As far as possible queries are to be submitted in writing. As matter of principle, the identity of the individual raising the query is kept confidential and actual prescriptions are not judged for their merit.

Projects

Marketing the concept of rational drug use and activities thereof – the mission of Community Development Medicinal Unit [CDMU] is the unique project in South-East Asia

WHO - HAI pricing project.
Consumer awarness on food and drug safety project - Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India.

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