Tamil Nadu’s efficient drug procurement system offers clues to fixing the glitches in the national health system
It is five in the evening, but patients are still making a beeline to see Dr. N. Vijayalaxmi, the duty doctor at the district headquarters hospital at Thiruvallur, about 50 km from Chennai. The doctor patiently listens to each one of them, chides some for not coming in earlier in spite of fever, and furiously scribbles tests and medicines.
Once the tests approve the drug, TNMSC places regular orders through the year depending on inventory levels in its warehouses. A computerised management information system constantly keeps track of inventories in warehouses and helps place orders and clear payments within 15 days. The system has put an end to excess as well as shortage of drugs.
(This story appears in the 30 July, 2010 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)