Beginning July 1, 2021, National Medical Stores (NMS) will shift from paper-based analog system and officially adopt an online-based system dubbed NMS + CSSP for ordering, tracking, monitoring, and delivery of all drugs and medical supplies.
The adoption of an online-based system (NMS + CSSP) was confirmed by Moses Kamabare, the General Manager National Medical Stores.
Starting July 1, 2021, NMS will switch on the NMS+ CSSP online-based system, and Health facilities starting with HCIVs and government hospitals will be required to submit their orders for drugs and medical supplies online. Any Health Facility that will submit its orders for drugs and medical supplies to National Medical Stores using hard forms (paper-based) will be rejected starting July 1, 2021”, Kabamare revealed.
Kabamare added
The NMS + CSSP online-based system will improve on visibility, accountability, and transparency which will in the long run address the various challenges that have been associated with the paper-based system including delays in receiving the orders. The NMS + CSSP online-based system will help in sharing information with other stakeholders at different government levels.
The NMS + CSSP online system was piloted about six months ago and we (NMS) started with seven Health facilities and now they are 150 health facilities. We (NMS) expect by June 15, 2021 to have covered all the 268 health facilities which are in phase one (HCIVs and Hospitals), and thereafter we shall embark on phase 2 (HCIIIs) which are over 1000 and we shall conclude with HCIIs in phase 3.
According to Moses Kamabare, National Medical Stores received support from the United States government to adopt the online-based ERP NMS + CSSP system, and its worth US Dollars 10million (USD 10 million).
Some of the recipients of the online-based system had this to say;
Capt. Rolands Mugasha, Directorate of HIV, Program Officer for Logistics (UPDF)
With the introduction of this new online system, it will help us right from the health facility that is ordering to the administration at the headquarters and ministry for monitoring what has been ordered and how it’s delivered because communication is done with National Medical Stores on time.
Capt. Alfonse Ochom, Hospital Administrator, Katabi HCIV (Katabi Military Hospital)
We have been having a lot of challenges with the manual ordering of drugs and medical supplies. With the online system, there will be improvement in ordering and distribution and there will also be improvement in accountability, accessibility, and communication.
