Challenges of Shortages in Supply Chain in a Public Hospital: A Case Report

Abstract

Public hospitals in Brazil play an important role in health care. They are complex institutions and their organization requires modernization of the mechanisms and expansion of quality management. The aim of this study was to apply the PlanejamentoEstratégicoSituacional (PES) – Situational Strategic Planning – tool to identify problems and to facilitate possible solutions related to the shortage of health products in a municipal hospital. This was a qualitative study of the case report type in which, through the PES tool, problems in the planning process, institutional organization, services, as well as financial condition and economic distribution, were listed, all related to the shortage of themed health products. The PES tool enabled the preparation of an Operational Plan, which allowed for operations to define and establish an efficient control of indicators and action deadlines necessary to minimize both the interference in the quality of care and health problems in the distribution chain of the hospital pharmacy. Despite the lack of financial and human resources, the difficulty of access and use of technology and inadequate physical structure, it was possible to implement measures so as to improve public administration. Turns out that the PO tool has provided awareness in the actors, making changes in the establishment of management and ensuring interdisciplinary approach in the planning and development of hospital activities. It is necessary to ,make progress in the Pharmaceutical Assistance policy to steer managerial strategies in the management, technical and operational processes, so as to broaden the dialogue with stakeholders and to promote the rational use of medicines and health products.