Page 12 - covid-19-pandemic-malaysia-journey

was also applied to procure hand sanitizers to quickly overcome the stock-out condition in

MOH facilities.

The procurement of medicines during the pandemic was taxing and warranted lots of extra

efforts mainly due to the travel restrictions that had affected the importation and logistics
of medicines and medical supplies. The problems, however, were successfully overcome by

the teamwork among all the MOH divisions and cooperation with other ministries. For

example, inter-ministerial discussion and collaboration with the Ministry of International
Trade and Industry (MITI) were done to obtain the approval for the pharmaceutical

manufacturers and related companies to operate like normal at full force during the MCO.

Meanwhile, government to government engagement with Japan, India, China and Taiwan
was facilitated through the MOH Policy and International Relations Division to allow the

exportation of pharmaceutical products as well as active pharmaceutical ingredients (API)
to Malaysia.

As the usage of hydroxychloroquine increased, the product registration holder was unable
to supply the medicine as required by the MOH. To ensure the adequate and continuous

supply of hydroxychloroquine during this critical time, a local pharmaceutical manufacturer

was engaged to produce it locally after strict qualification assessment by the NPRA. Another
issue and challenge was the unavailability of commercialized hydroxychloroquine sulphate

suspension for children and adult patients requiring it. To overcome this challenge, the PSP
had updated the formulation for hydroxychloroquine sulphate 25mg/ml suspension in the

Pharmacy Information System (PhIS) to enable the facilities to prepare the suspension

extemporaneously.

Supply chain management is very crucial during COVID-19 pandemic, hence the monitoring

on the stock status of medicine and related consumables, like PPE was done closely. In
addition, the stock status at the suppliers’ level was also being monitored, in particular for

the high usage items so that appropriate countermeasures can be taken immediately to

prevent stock disruptions to the MOH facilities. As most of the medicines and antivirals for
the treatment of COVID-19 were used as off-label treatment, a special monitoring

mechanism was established to supervise the utilization and conduct active surveillance on

the safety profile of 15 types of medications that were used in the management of COVID-
19 in 76 MOH hospitals. Along with this, PhIS was also improvised to enable the reporting

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