SGPGIMS Seminar Calls for Smarter Medical Procurement to Boost Public Healthcare

SGPGIMS hosts a seminar urging smarter medical procurement to improve public health services and prevent supply delays.

A seminar was held on Sunday at the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, to emphasize good medical procurement practices in government healthcare facilities so that they can gain efficiency and be reliable.

Several key stakeholders came together to discuss ways to improve medical procurement processes. Their goal is to ensure maximum transparency and timely availability of health-related materials. During their discussions, they focused on valuable initiatives like the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) and the Uttar Pradesh Medical Supplies Corporation Limited (UPMSCL), which aim to enhance procurement efficiency and eliminate obstacles.

Why procurement is more than just logistics

Dr. R.K. Dhiman, Director of SGPGIMS, emphasized that procurement is fundamental to the health system. He pointed out that procurement is not just about logistics or inventory anymore; it now plays a vital role in determining patient care, access to services, and the overall performance of our health system.

Due to the complex nature of healthcare delivery nowadays, transparency and accountability of medical procurement are demanded more than ever before. Strategic medical procurement, according to Professor Dhiman, not only results in better patient outcomes but also better protection of public resources.

Learning from the past: COVID-19 and supply chain failures

Professor R. Harshvardhan, Head of Hospital Administration and principal organizer of the event, brought forth a robust argument, replete with case studies illustrating how medical procurement failures impact people.

He also mentioned the constant shortage of medicines in various government hospitals as a serious concern and suggested timely, data-driven medical procurement patterns to avoid such shortages in the future.

Creating a Future-Ready Procurement System

National seminar in Lucknow highlights why smart procurement is vital for better healthcare delivery. The seminar concluded on a note of agreement that an affordable, legally sound, and service-oriented system of medical procurement would be built. The experts believe that empowering medical procurement officers, computerizing procedures, and real-time monitoring would result in a massive improvement in the delivery of public health across the board.

(Input from various sources)

(Rehash/Muhammad Faisal Arshad/MSM)