Situation
Due to a wide variety of factors, there is an increasing occurrence of stock shortages of essential medications in the pharmaceutical industry. This issue has persisted for years, but it escalated significantly when global trade slowed down during the COVID-19 crisis. Unfortunately, even after the COVID-19 crisis, the number of stock shortages in Belgium has not decreased. Delivery interruptions are rampant in the pharmaceutical sector, and coupled with the delayed communication about these interruptions, it leads to stock shortages in hospitals. Regrettably, the discovery of a stock shortage in hospitals often occurs through empty shelves in the pharmacy, presenting an immediate and acute problem. Few pharmaceutical companies actively communicate about their stock interruptions. While Farmastatus.be represents a step in the right direction for streamlining data collection, the information regarding these stock shortages on the platform is often incorrect and inconsistent. Therefore, searching for information about delivery interruptions remains a highly time-consuming task. Hospital pharmacists attempt to find alternatives, but this too is labour-intensive and usually occurs under the time pressure of patient necessity. Additionally, internal communication between the pharmacy, physicians, and nurses often breaks down, resulting in delayed and/or suboptimal therapy, ultimately compromising patient care. Moreover, all these challenges, such as the repetitive search efforts that occur separately in each hospital, make life more difficult for hospital pharmacists.
Connectus Reserva
Your stock shortage management tool
Connectus Reserva can prevent hospital pharmacists from constantly playing catch-up and losing valuable time. Connectus Reserva is a community-based stock shortage management tool. Hospital pharmacists unite in the fight against stock shortages by sharing information about shortages. Additionally, we will help combat these stock shortages by facilitating the search for alternatives within ConRes. Furthermore, we can collectively address shortages of essential medications through medication exchange. ConRes will only send a request for stock sharing to hospitals with available stock. This request will be enriched with data about the current stock and expected usage by potential donors. Naturally, reporting detected shortages will also happen automatically to FarmaStatus and the FAGG. Therefore, your hospital pharmacy must join, as only together can we more efficiently combat these stock shortages!
Proof of concept
Together with Apr. Ruth Bral from Jan Palfijn Hospital (Ghent), a proof of concept has been developed. This prototype is so groundbreaking that it has won the Pfizer Award 2024. However, only a limited part of the intended functionality has been implemented in this setup: the simple and proactive detection of supply interruptions in the pharmaceutical market, long before a stock shortage occurs in the pharmacy. Furthermore, this proof of concept simplifies the registration and monitoring of supply interruptions and clearly visualizes the detection of critical stock shortages. Lastly, triggers are provided to reverse the measures taken when the market normalizes.
Mock up
As more hospital pharmacists join, we will receive more information, leading to a fully developed community-based tool. Several mock-ups have already been created to provide a clearer picture of the tool.
Timing
To start, we are looking for 5 early adopters who will receive a Minimal Viable Product (MVP). We anticipate a development period of approximately 3 months for this MVP. The MVP will be capable of detecting stock shortages by tracking purchase orders and integrating with FarmaStatus. Additionally, a communication module will be set up to inform all stakeholders efficiently. When a stock shortage occurs, its severity will be immediately assessed based on the current stock level and average consumption. Furthermore, as the end of the stock shortage approaches, this will also be noted so that reverse actions can be initiated. After this MVP phase, we will continue intensive development based on priorities determined by the early adopters. This includes features such as searching for alternatives based on Sam v2, communicating with the community to prevent duplicate efforts, and further enhancements.
What’s in it for you
This is based on two pillars: firstly, the significant time savings achieved by monitoring stock shortages, and secondly, early detection leading to fewer critical stock shortages and consequently, better patient care.
Early adopters will enjoy numerous other benefits. They will have quick access to the tool and will also have a say in its functionality; they will have a guiding voice in its development. Financial advantages are also provided. For hospitals that do not have direct/free access to Zorgi Pharmacy data, we offer a linkage through the reporting and querying module. There is no need for Zorgi to develop or maintain this linkage. Additionally, other logistical systems can be linked provided that the data is delivered in a structured format.
Partnership
Connectus Reserva is the result of a collaboration between HPC Belgium and TAG. HPC Belgium is led by a hospital pharmacist with experience in over 10 hospitals. This extensive experience ensures that Connectus Reserva will be developed to address the real pain points that nearly every hospital pharmacist experiences on a daily basis.
TAG is a powerhouse of expertise in project management, business analysis, and IT development, particularly within the healthcare sector. TAG and HPC Belgium have been partners for over 10 years on various projects, complementing each other perfectly.
