TITLE:
ABC-VEN Analysis of Medicine Expenditure at Mwananyamala Regional Hospital in Tanzania
AUTHORS:
Amani Thomas Mori, Penina Erick Mnandi, Godeliver Kagashe, Røkke Håvard, Svein Haavik
KEYWORDS:
Tanzanian, Medicines, Expenditure, ABC Analysis, VEN Analysis, Hospitals
JOURNAL NAME:
Modern Economy,
Vol.12 No.10,
October
21,
2021
ABSTRACT: Policymakers in developing countries are looking for
effective and efficient ways to control hiking expenditure on medicines. This
article shows the effectiveness of the ABC-VEN method to improve efficiency in
resource use with data from Mwananyamala hospital in Tanzania. We used expenditure data for 233 medicines worth
909.9 million Tsh (392,386.4 USD) bought in the year 2018/2019. Data were
extracted from the electronic system, receipts, and other relevant documents.
Medicines were categorized according to their contribution to the total
medicine expenditure (ABC) and their importance to the functioning of the
hospital (VEN). 39 (17%) medicines belong to group A and 134 (57%) to C, which
accounted for 70% and 10% of the total medicine expenditure, respectively. 15%,
78%, and 7% of the medicines belong to the Vital,
Essential, and Non-essential groups, respectively. 65 medicines (28%) that
accounted for 73% of the total medicine expenditure were in group I that requires stringent control. 4 high-cost
non-essential medicines and 20 low-cost vital medicines accounted for 7%
and 1% of the total medicine expenditure, respectively. Efficiency can be
improved through rational prescribing and substituting high-cost non-essential
with low-cost vital medicines.