Bomet adopts online medicine tracking system for efficiency

The Bomet government has set up an online system for management of drugs to trace supply from  Longisa County Referral Hospital.

The system will enable the government to account for medicines and to trace the availability of drugs in all health facilities. 

Chief Officer for Health Felix Langat said all the health facilities in the will update their systems to enable the management to trace the supply of medicines.

If a certain medicine is available in one hospital and is needed elsewhere, it will be easier to coordinate.

Langat spoke at Longisa County Referral Hospital while receiving medicines worth Sh32 million from Kemsa.

"When there's a deficit of a certain drug in a hospital and it is required, this system will enable us to trace its availability in other hospitals. This will enable us to avoid assuming that there's no medicine in our hospitals," Langat said.

Tracing the expiry dates for all medicines has been made easier since the county government will ensure that all medicines are utilised and coordinated in all the subcounties.

The system will identify medicines that are almost expiring and doctors will consider using them to safeguard against loss.

"We will be able to trace the expiry dates of all medicines. For example, a certain drug almost expiring in a certain hospital will be taken to be used in another facility required on time to avoid losing them in any way," Langat said.

 Langat said instead of residents saying that there's no medicine in the facilities, they should go to hospital and confirm the prescription from a doctor.

He said many patients assume that there's no medicine in the whole facility when one of them fails to get what the doctor prescribed.

"I want to make it clear to the residents of Bomet that when you go to our facility and fail to get the drug prescribed by our doctor, it doesn't mean that all the other illnesses lack the drug," Langat said.

In Bomet, 70 per cent of people seek medication from public hospitals.

The chief officer confirmed that 83 per cent of what they ordered was delivered compared to previous years when they used to receive around 60 per cent.

He said the national government is making positive changes in delivery.

The government is now using last-mile delivery where the supplies are taken directly to the hospitals and not to the county hospital for supply like before.

The supply came directly to Longisa County Referral  Hospital, and the other supplies for the five subcounties will be delivered directly.

Health executive Joseph Sitonik said the use of medicines will be accounted for daily.

He made it clear that the supply came at a time when the hospital had some in stock.

"Receiving these supplies in June is a boost since it enables us to move smoothly through the tricky months after the budget is read due to revenue taking long to come," Sitonik said.

He  encouraged the public to embrace primary healthcare by using the facilities near them.