Welcome to the first episode of Health Systems Pathways. Making it easier for people to navigate complex health systems. Insights to inform, influence and inspire!
I am Marina Dalton-Brown from Population Services International (more fondly known as PSI), and I am pleased to be your host for this podcast series.
This is the shorter version of this episode, where you will hear the contributions of my guest, Ms. Hawa Godwin Milangasi, translated into English. If you would prefer to listen to the full length episode, including Ms Milangasi's contributions in Swahili, follow this link;
https://health-systems-pathways.captivate.fm/episode/-swh
In today’s episode, we talk about drug shops and the role they have in connecting people with the broader health systems.
As part of the conversation, it’s important to distinguish between “drug shops” and pharmacies.
Pharmacies are dispensers of prescription pharmaceutical products and may also sell other retail products and offer basic health services. These are owned, operated, or supervised by a registered pharmacy professional and are typically overseen by a national or regional regulator.
Drug shops are usually unregulated or poorly regulated though they may still sell prescription or over-the-counter health products. Sometimes they operate outside a formal regulatory environment. But they are an important point of care for many persons living in rural areas or outside city centres. In fact, properly integrating them into the health system – by providing training, standards, and a regulatory process – has the potential to significantly improve patient care.
In Tanzania, the National Food and Drug Administration and The Pharmacy Council have been working, with other partners, since 2005 to develop a mechanism to bring drug shops into the national healthcare system by certifying them and improving the quality of products and services being offered. This is called the ADDO Model, which stands for the Accreditation of Drug Dispensing Outlets. Since its inception, more than 14,000 drug shops have been accredited (or certified) and over 26,000 dispensers trained. And studies have shown that these drug shops perform well at many aspects of providing patient care. As a result, a number of other countries have their eye on this model and are at different stages of progress, including Bangladesh, Nigeria, Uganda, and Madagascar among others.
