RPM Plus: What We Do: Cross-Cutting Activities

Because pharmaceutical management affects nearly every aspect of health service delivery, many problems that RPM Plus confronts have global implications that cut across traditional public health categories and USAID strategic objectives.

RPM Plus and USAID developed a set of strategic activities in order to address these overarching issues.

Improving the availability and use of health commodities
Developing increased drug management capacity
Providing technical leadership and support in drug management
Promoting the development of a global drug management and drug use practices research agenda
Ensuring drug product quality

Improving the availability and use of health commodities

The availability of health commodities is linked to how they are selected. Cost is clearly another important factor but not necessarily the most important. Other selection factors include safety, efficacy, and medical need. On the drug use side, lack of information and inappropriate behaviors by prescribers and consumers may contribute to poor health outcomes.

RPM Plus is assisting countries in the development of standard treatment guidelines, training on the functioning of drug and therapeutics committees, and conducting workshops on improving procurement practices in order to address the key issues of availability and appropriate use.

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Developing increased drug management capacity to improve health system performance

The persistent spread of infectious diseases such as TB, malaria, and HIV/AIDS intensifies the need to ensure the availability of treatment drugs and to promote rational use. To address these complicated drug management challenges, RPM Plus works at national, regional, district, and health facility levels to expand the capacity of managers, government leaders, and other decision makers to improve their health system performance.

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Providing technical leadership and support in drug management to USAID population, health, and nutrition program strategies

Some global initiatives have not adequately considered drug management issues, and they must now scale up in order to provide successful interventions and programs. Problems needing attention include shortages of drugs, products of poor quality, inappropriate use of commodities, and growing antimicrobial resistance. RPM Plus helps to facilitate the implementation of drug management interventions and programs by sharing best practices, tools, and approaches.

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Promoting the development of a global drug management and drug use practices research agenda

Many questions exist as to what actually happens in terms of care-seeking and drug-seeking behavior and patient or consumer compliance with prescribed regimens. RPM Plus is helping to develop a systematic approach to research that addresses the critical areas of drug management, as well as household and community drug use behaviors. The program encourages major partners to join in a common effort to identify evidence-based, cost-effective methods for improving drug management and drug use practices.

RPM Plus also supports the International Network for Rational Use of Drugs (INRUD), which is one of the leading groups working to improve the ways drugs are prescribed, dispensed, and used.

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Ensuring drug product quality and promoting efforts to eliminate substandard, subpotent, or counterfeit products

With the increasing appearance of counterfeit and substandard products, concern grows about drug product quality. Ineffective or dangerous products may not only affect health outcomes but also contribute to antimicrobial resistance. Many developing countries have no systems for identifying or reporting problems once drugs have entered supply systems. Testing laboratories, if present at all, are often poorly equipped and staffed.

RPM Plus is working to develop the multiple approaches and services needed to ensure the quality of drug products, including good procurement and distribution practices, competent reference laboratories, and sound drug registration processes.

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