Abstract
This research aims to design a drug service system for patients to receive medicine at a drug store near patients' homes according to Model 3 of the National Health Security Office (NHSO), which is part of the project to reduce congestion in hospitals. It focuses on managing the flow of medicines in the healthcare supply chain outbound of hospitals, fundamentally from a logistics and supply chain design perspective. The essential goal of service is to respond to patient needs promptly, with the lowest service costs, and service quality as stated by patients. In this research, three key design factors were considered: (1) determining the optimal location of drug stores according to the distribution of patients by applying geographic information systems (GIS), (2) designing proper inventory levels for pharmacies, and (3) proposing drug transportation distribution models. Following the service Model 3 of NHSO, the direction is on drug stores being responsible for managing and preparing to dispense medicines to patients by prescriptions received from hospitals. Chronically ill patients under 4 groups of diseases in the Hat Yai District, namely diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, and psychiatric diseases, were regarded as focused groups referred to the Hat Yai Hospital database. In addition, the scope of the study was expanded to cover other projects operated by the NHSO to locate the drug stores, consisting of 1) the Antigen Test Kit (ATK) allocation project, 2) the condom allocation project, and 3) the birth control pill allocation project, to the benefit of developing a drug and medical supply distribution system through the drug store service unit. The research results in policy recommendations as operational guidelines for each relevant sector in the healthcare supply chain system. It also evaluated the cost per visit of drugstore service providers in the Drug Pick Up Near Patients' Home Project under Model 3 of the NHSO.
