The Ministry of Public Health (Ministerio de Salud Pública, or MSP) of the Dominican Republic has been implementing the Integrated Medicines Management System (Sistema Único de Gestión de Medicamentos e Insumos, or SUGEMI) on a nationwide scale. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Management Sciences for Health, through its projects Strengthening Pharmaceutical Systems (SPS) and Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services (SIAPS), have provided financial and technical assistance for the design and implementation of SUGEMI. This process, which began in 2009, has not been without the complexities that challenge all developmental interventions in the framework of administrative decentralization and health sector reform. These obstacles, which have been systematically and successfully addressed, can serve as lessons for technical assistance agencies that are asked to support the integration of multiple vertical public supply systems for medicines and supplies.
This report is directed at public officials and consultants from aid agencies that are working on the implementation of integrated supply management systems. It is organized around the 10 lessons brought about by the implementation of SUGEMI in the Dominican Republic as of March 2016.
