Results and Analysis of Data: Departments in DGMS Oman

Research Methodology
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Results and Analysis of Data
From the results, it is wise to have two different analyses of data. The quantitative analysis will point to the figures and performance. The qualitative analysis helps in understanding the significance of the quantitative data. From the questionnaire results, it is easy to find out the necessary reasons to analyze the data. The interview and questionnaire conducted for staff in different departments in DGMS Oman. The two methods have been particularly effective in this situation, since they cover not only a larger area but also a more diverse population regarding the personnel involved.
The results of the questionnaire reveal that 43% of the respondents believe that the DGMS regularly runs out of stock, while the remaining 57% don’t believe so. The opposite is the case when it comes to the respondents’ belief that some types of drugs or medicine are particularly overstocked by the DGMS. The figures reveal 57% who believe so, while 43% of the respondents do not. When it comes to the difficulty faced by the DGMS in collecting consumption information from the hospitals, there are an enormous number of those surveyed, 79% in total, who believe so. The remaining 21% are of the opposite opinion.
93% of the respondents of the questionnaires believe that there have been an increased number of people who mainly think more individuals in the hospitals are using the drugs supplied by the DGMS. This is in sharp contrast to the 7% who note otherwise. Increased consumption and timely dispatch go hand in hand since one is a prerequisite for the other. When it comes to this, 71% of the respondents believe the DGMS has managed to match consumption with timely delivery, whereas the remaining 29% still cited a discrepancy between the two.
There is a tie when it comes to the impact of numerous players in the supply chain.50% of the respondents believed that the increased number of players along the medical supply chain had been the main reason as to why the DGMS is having a surplus in drugs. The figure is evenly matched with the 50% of the respondents who don’t believe this to be the case. Automation of the systems of the DGMS was also a contentious issue that was almost equally balanced, with 43% of respondents believing the DGMS still used analog, manual procedures, against the 57% who thought the systems being used were updated. They cited the use of the ORACLE system and other automated processes such as ABC analysis and categorization as evidence enough.
A majority of the respondents, 57%, stated that it was challenging for them to seek or order drugs from the DGMS. 22% of them said it was least challenging, 14% were not sure. Only 7% of the respondents noted that it was not challenging at all, to do so. When it came to the keeping of accurate records of the database in the store, most of the respondents acknowledged that it was indeed a difficult and challenging process.36% of them in particular, noted that it was the most challenging exercise. This was backed up by 64%, who pointed out that it was indeed challenging.
A majority of the respondents, 64%, believe that the processing of their orders by the DGMS once received from the supplier, takes an acceptable duration. 22% still believed it was least acceptable, while 7% believed it was totally unacceptable. There are some specific drugs that are the most widely ordered by the respondents. These drugs include; Captopril 25mg Tablet, Cephradine 500mg injection, Haloperidol 5mg/ml and Normal saline 500ml IV. These drugs are usually on demand, and as a result, are regularly in and out of stock. About their frequency, 50% of the respondents disagree while 14% strongly disagree with the statement that Captopril 25mg Tablet is always out of stock. In other words, they believe it is always in stock.21% of the respondents, however, strongly agreed that the drug is always out of stock. 14% partially agree with the statement, while just 7% agree.
57% disagree with the statement that Cephradine 500mg injection is always out of stock at the DGMS.36% partially agree with the declaration while 7% agree. There is a tie when it comes to Haloperidol 5mg/ml, as 50% partially agree , while another 50% disagree on its availability at the store.50% of the respondents strongly disagree with the statement that Normal saline 500ml IV is always out of stock.29% strongly disagree, while just 21% partially agree.
50% of the respondents said that they rarely issued double at DGMS.21% did so occasionally, while 14% frequently did so.14% of the respondents stated that they never issued double at DGMS. When it came to the personal perception on the difficulty of the DGMS to deliver drugs to hospitals and health centers countrywide,50% of the respondents stated it was the least difficult process,14% said it was the most difficult,21% said it was to some extent difficult, while just 14% said it was not difficult at all.
When it came to the satisfactory levels offered by the DGMS, opinion was split between the respondents.50% of the respondents partially agreed that DGMS service is partially satisfactory to the facility, while 14% disagreed. The remaining 36% of the respondents agreed that it was satisfactory. In a response related to a previous one, 71% of the respondents agreed that the multi-tier supply chain affects timely delivery, especially from the side of DGMS. This was an almost unanimous response, since 21% partially agreed, while 7% strongly agreed.50% of the respondents agreed that the DGMS is occasionally plagued by the menace of expired drugs, while 21% agreed, and 7% strongly agreed. This was in contrast to the 14% who disagreed and 7% who strongly disagreed with the notion.
71% of the respondents disagreed with the notion that the DGMS occasionally receives medication that is not ordered.7% strongly disagreed.14% partially agreed ,while 7% agreed.50% agree that a centralized procurement system would solve the current distribution issues with DGMS ,14% strongly agree while 21% partially agree. Only 145 disagreed with this notion. When it came to the quality of drugs received by the DGMS, 36% strongly agreed that it is sometimes poor quality, while another 36% agreed about the same. 7% partially agreed, while 14% disagreed. Only 7% strongly disagreed with this notion.72% found the mechanism of the DGMS mechanisms to track dispatches from their warehouses to their points of delivery to be least effective.21% said it was effective, while 7% noted it to be very effective. None of the respondents denied its effectiveness.
The interview results had three respondents who had a more hands-on experience and some inside knowledge with how purchasing and supplies work. It should be noted that these interviews were done they all acknowledged that the store usually has excess inventories. A majority also agreed that the DGMS had unused stock, such as for surgical items. This remaining stock was noted to stay on the shelves for periods ranging from 3 months to more than a year. The drugs that were most commonly left on the shelves included antibiotics, bulk IV medication, narcotics, contraceptives, HIV medications and psychotropics. Where are a majority accepted that they had enough space for the storage of the residual stock, some noted that they didn't.
Inventory is the amount of work at hand regarding goods and services that one can offer. What comes in and what goes out are kept in inventory. They also assist in maintaining the physical and virtual resources. Work in process and spares in stores also fall in the same category. Peterson (2004) adds that in the medical field and service, the amount of medicines bought should be well recorded for future planning and management. Other medical machines that are brought into use are as well in this category (Glick, Delovitch & Pattern, 2014). At times, people include only the chemical drugs and ignore the machines, and technological innovations brought in the system. The changing demands of medications that will need advanced administration of the files require inventory management (Guta, et al., 2013).
Without excess-stock controls, the medical fraternity can run at malpractices, losses, and gross misconducts. Confusions do exist when there are a lot provided, and inequivalent results come up. A lot of the work may not be well-kept. With time, the organization finds themselves spending a lot in their management at inefficient services. An investigation of this matter subjects DGMS to scrutiny to determine what ways it can use to reduce the much-hyped inventories(Glick, Delovitch & Pattern, 2014). The problem is recurrent and needs ways of reduction for their efficiency if they are to improve in their medical provisions. The resulting findings should result in a standard demand supply curve. What they issue should match what they use, and results of use are seen.
From the interview, it was also worth noting what the DGMS did with the excess inventory. Practically, it depended on the expiry dates of the products. If the date were very near, then the store would either have to distribute it to other similar stores, or utilize the law of guarantee to ask the supplier for an alternative item in its place. This will ensure that the warehouse can have a stock of a different product. If the expiry date were longer, then this would be helpful in the long term, since it helps the store to carry forward the records, so that the orders of such products are actually canceled or minimally done so as to balance the available stock.
The majority of the interviewees also expressed their desire that the medicines with excess stock be removed. They cited this to be important since it cuts down on the inventory, whose management and maintenance over an extended period is quite costly. Secondly, they also preferred new and fresh supplied each year, to maintain quality and high standards. Finally, it would also ease up space on the shelves for other drugs too. The excess stock was, from the answers given by the interviewees, due to the change in the medical preferences and prescriptions in the various health institutions as well as the growth of alternative medicine.
When it came to the causes of the discrepancies between the physical and system stock, the interviewees cited excess workload and lack of, or minimum storage space as the causes. Others cited errors in documentation as well as receiving or issuing supplies. To cut down on such discrepancies, they had to do stock reconciliation every day or a specific period, so as to balance everything within the system with the physical presence.
Some of the interviewees preferred an excess of certain medicines while others were not for the idea. The proponents of the notion cited a long shelf life and the difficulty in acquiring more of such medicines, as the restore opponents on the other side, cited the cost of maintaining inventory and the storage area space.
As can be seen, the questionnaire results cover up to 8 questions in section A and more issues in section B. The analysis and interpretation of these questions are essential when it comes to manipulating the results into meaningful information. Analysis from the first part will lead to conclusions on the second. The first one points how difficult it is to order drugs from DGMS. Most of the times, the suppliers cannot order drugs in DGMS. DGMS finds it difficult to get the drugs in time. As stated earlier this is proof that the bureaucracies of attaining ethical rules affect even the major supplier (Zackary, 2014).
With scores of responses on either, there is indeed a strong need to consider them critically. Any percentage representation on either of the responses is a prerequisite of some hidden reasons as to why such responses were observed altogether. It might also be an indication of either an ending or beginning trait among the sample and the people in general.
The results of the interview were also very vital. Most interviewees hinted to the long periods the DGMS take to get the drugs. Though this would be a challenge, their stocks are never empty. DGMS will have uneasy time in distribution. This contributes to the massive inefficiencies in their supply system (Zackary, 2014). It is tiresome providing adequate records if the people cannot get drugs in time. By the time they have drugs; the patients will have lost hope. When they give up, their conditions worsen and create a myriad of problems. How will records be well-maintained if they cannot provide the right drugs at the right times? What if the patients die after they give up? What records will the hospitals give? What will they do to expired drugs due to their errors? These are pointers of the errors that accumulate and cause excess inventory management at the DGMS.
Discussion
The findings of the research offer a very broad interpretation of the central problem surrounding the operations of the DGMS in Oman. The discrepancies in the responses are as a result of respondents being from different departments. They, therefore, give responses based on their personal experiences or opinions on the goings-on in their departments. The quantity of drugs and medical needs that Oman as a country will use in the coming years need determination. Most of the times, the excess inventory does not give the amount of they have used or intend to use. Records do not show a constant trend.
They are mixed, some appreciate as other depreciate (Robert & Cline, 2015). In collecting such information, there are considerations to make. The records and statistics at the DGMS should be available to present all this needed information. Cases of patients suffering from various diseases can help in the analysis (Maeda, 2012). There are numerous provisions that the medical field may have. It is from such subheadings that the state can find out how many patients they would need to cater for in every year. In case the medical conditions are worsening or getting better when contained, the need to shrink their budgets. These shrinking and expansion of budgets by the DGMS are not well handled and will result in errors.
When they receive orders, DGMS take the least of time to release the drugs. From the survey, they take the least time to supply the inquiries. The change in levels of operation shows the levels of errors they will have to deal with. It is not easy to handle the problems at the supplier’s level. The DGMS, however, has reduced the processing time for their drugs provisions (Sulaiman, Asya & Farid, 2000). The claim that some medicine is out of stock at the DGMS is not valid. It is the acquisition that is causing the trouble. Besides, there has not been any double issuance of drugs. That is a way of ensuring records is not in any way under manipulation.
DGMS also has an easy time in delivering drugs to the hospitals. In the survey, only some least percentage of 14 disagree. It means, from experience, that the delivery process is also complete. The comprehensiveness of the situation is helping clean up the situation at DGMS. The public also agrees to the satisfactory nature of services at DGMS. The problem is elsewhere. It is their tracking system. From their warehouses, they do not follow up to the destination where the drugs end. Most of the errors originate here. What they give may be or may not be fully utilized.
If they fail to track the movement and delivery of drugs, they are not in a position to manage the inventory. What they do is accurate up to the release and not the delivery. It is here that drugs are either underuse...