Project Management: Analyzing Pharmaceutical Procurement in Hospitals

This report critically examines the findings and recommendations of an audit report on pharmaceutical procurement in Western Australian public hospitals, addressing pre-contract award and post-contract management issues. The analysis reveals deficiencies in purchasing operations, leading to financial losses and non-compliance with government standards. Recommendations focus on enhancing stakeholder awareness, strengthening procurement processes, and improving monitoring and control mechanisms to prevent drug abuse and ensure transparent reporting. The author reflects on the ethical implications and practical applications of these findings for their own career in healthcare management, emphasizing the importance of operational and legal compliance in procurement management systems. The report concludes that addressing both pre- and post-contract issues is crucial for effective procurement, and adherence to government guidelines is essential for organizational success.

Running head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROCUREMENT
Project Management Procurement
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to examine the findings and recommendations presented
in a audit report named “PHARMACEUTICALS: PURCHASE AND MANAGEMENT OF
PHARMACEUTICALS IN PUBLIC HOSPITALS” to critically analyse significance of the
recommendation in author’s career and professional environment considering the pre-contract
award and post-contract management issues. It is an audit report published by the office of
the Auditor General, Western Australia. It is an audit report on current faults and in the
pharmaceutical product purchasing management of the public hospitals.
Pre-award process
Issues and findings
It has been found the public hospitals are executing a poor purchasing operation for
pharmaceutical product, which is causing financial loss and waste. Apart from that a
significant number of pharmaceutical purchases were failed to meet the government
procurement standard. Purchasing contracts are also not effective (Audit.wa.gov.au. 2012).
The purchasing decisions are not being taken effectively, which is causing loss of document
and data redundancy, internal conflicts and others. In spite of having a framework for
controlling the procurement operation, the stuffs are not guided properly.
Critical analysis of the recommendation
According to the recommendations or guidelines provided by the Audit board, some
very crucial steps must be taken by all the public health organisations to prevent the dearth of
health quality and healthcare standard. The healthcare organisations must ensure that all the
relevant stakeholders are aware of the purchasing contracts and the procurement operations

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for the pharmaceutical products. This recommendation has been made to strengthen the pre-
award procurement management issues (Hughes et al. 2015).
Scope of improvement
In accordance with the recommendations of Audit board of WA, the public healthcare
organisations can change their operational structure in many ways under the detailed
guideline provided by the government. Making the procurement process efficient will reduce
the operational loss while increasing the financial and non-financial benefit of the
organisations and the government through strengthen the pre-award contract (Lee, Chung-
Yee and Yapeng 2016). Through
Post award process
Issues and findings
With this regards, it has been found that some of the must-disposing actions are not
being taken accordingly. The investigation process for addictive and abuse-prone
pharmaceutical product usage has been found as a corrupt system. According to
Audit.wa.gov.au. (2012), only the 20 percent of the total abuse-prone drug usage were
recorded. This poor procurement system in the public hospitals of West Australia is causing
fraud, financial loss, bribery, poor patient care and other issues.
Critical analysis of the recommendation
They should review their current policies and regulations for making effective
changes. The conflict management procedure have to be transparent and under the detailed
observation of higher authority, which could help them for post-contract management
(Lonsdale et al. 2016). As per the recommendations, the monitoring and controlling operation
for pharmaceutical purchasing and procurement should be stronger. Periodic internal audit,

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CCTV monitoring, text and audio-video record keeping could be implemented by the health
organisations. The recommendations are also focused on the authentic documentation and
transparent reporting protocols, though which a clear investigation can be conducted for
finding the underlying reasons. This recommendation has been made to strengthen the post-
award procurement management issues (Hughes et al. 2015).
Scope of improvement
proper investigation procedure, the drug abuse in healthcare premises can be reduced
while increasing the overall healthcare condition of this region. The regular and transparent
reporting will also help the organisations to improve their current procurement planning as
well as a method of post-contract management system. Through strengthen the procurement
process; the healthcare organisation can prevent unauthorised operation or bribery.
Significance and findings
From the description of the findings in the current procurement process of public
healthcare organisations in WA and the recommendations presented in the audit report, the
author can adopt some ethical issues while making himself more efficient and potential for
the healthcare management and other managerial post. More specifically, the types of
monitoring and controlling system guided by the audit report is very helpful for the author to
understand the types and techniques of pre-contract management and post-contract
management through proper procurement monitoring and controlling operations, especially
for healthcare field (Seidman, Gabriel and Rifat 2017). The author could be more sincere
about the operational and legal obligations in procurement management system.
Conclusion

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From the above critical analysis and discussion it has been found that both pre-
contract award and post-contract management issues should be considered during the
procurement process. The guideline and standardisation procedure provided by the
government for both pre-award and post-award procurement phase should also be complied
with by every organisation. Apart from that, the author should be sincere about the
operational and legal obligations in procurement management system in his career and
professional environment.

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References:
Audit.wa.gov.au. 2012. Audit.Wa.Gov.Au.
https://audit.wa.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/report2012_07.pdf.
Hughes, Will, Ronan Champion, and John Murdoch. Construction contracts: law and
management. Routledge, 2015.
Lee, Chung-Yee, Xi Li, and Yapeng Xie. "Procurement risk management using capacitated
option contracts with fixed ordering costs." IIE transactions 45, no. 8 (2016): 845-864.
Lonsdale, Chris, Joe Sanderson, Glyn Watson, and Fei Peng. "Beyond intentional trust:
supplier opportunism and management control mechanisms in public sector procurement and
contracting." Policy & Politics 44, no. 2 (2016): 289-311.
Seidman, Gabriel, and Rifat Atun. "Do changes to supply chains and procurement processes
yield cost savings and improve availability of pharmaceuticals, vaccines or health products?
A systematic review of evidence from low-income and middle-income countries." BMJ
global health 2, no. 2 (2017): e000243.