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The Karnataka State Medical Supplies Corporation (KSMSCL), the nodal agency for procurement of medicines, consumables and equipment for hospitals across the 31 districts in the state, had implemented a comprehensive quarantine and sampling framework aimed at strengthening quality assurance and accountability across its supply chain.
The initiative is designed to ensure that all medical supplies undergo systematic quarantine, inspection, and sample testing before distribution, thereby reinforcing compliance with quality standards. Alongside this, KSMSCL has enhanced its financial transparency systems to enable real-time monitoring of supplier payments, improving efficiency, trust, and fiscal discipline across procurement operations.
Phase wise purchase order is issued to ensure the receipt of drugs with sufficient shelf life, bulk storage over long periods to be avoided. This helps prevent space constraints at district warehouses and reduces the risk of drugs becoming Not of Standard Quality (NSQ) due to climatic variations. Aligning supplies with actual consumption also improves stock rotation and overall inventory management.
To ensure drug quality, a quarantine system is implemented in all warehouses. Currently, product quality is verified based on the manufacturer’s in-house or NABL reports. Here we have empanelled laboratories to test all batches, and only after receiving Standard Quality reports the products will be released for distribution, ensuring 100% quality-assured drugs reach health institutions, Kanaga Valli M, managing director, KSMSCL told Pharmabiz in an interaction.
Empanelled labs will update test results in e-Aushada. The QC Section will review and authorize the results, classifying them as either Standard Quality or Not of Standard Quality. This enhancement eliminates manual data entry and minimizes delays in the submission of test. To ensure that drugs supplied have a longer usable shelf life, to help maintain product quality, reduce the risk of expiry during storage and distribution, and ensure timely availability of safe and effective medicines to health institutions, she added.
A process of pre-verification of drugs is implemented wherein our QC Section will authenticate the in-house test reports and NABL reports submitted by the pharma manufacturers supplier before supplying drugs. Now this helps in early detection of issues, improved quality assurance, regulatory compliance, operational efficiency etc, she said.
Further, the vendor module in our Aushada Software has been customized to provide a more user-friendly interface. This allows them to enter details easily , bringing in efficiency. The e:stock certificate generation for authentication & quicker payment allows for speedy payment disbursal based on phase wise purchase order. In fact, it stalls storage-related issues, ensure receipt of drugs with longer shelf life by avoiding bulk storage said the KSMSC managing director.
In order to reduce the risk of drugs becoming Not of Standard Quality during storage, especially due to changes in climatic conditions, a quarantine & sample lifting of QC Batches is carried out randomly from 3 warehouses for the batches supplied for every 6 days by the e-Aushada system to avoid delays in the quality clearance process.
In a bid to bring in financial transparency, streamline payment processes, and improve realtime tracking of supplier dues, an E-Payment Module will be introduced in the e-Aushada software. Even for Adverse Drug Reaction System, a module has been developed in the Aushada Software for health institutions to report complaints related to such incidences observed within their facility, said the KSMSC managing director.
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