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Drug-Susceptible Tuberculosis (DS-TB) drugs are available as Fixed Dose Combination. The treatment duration is generally 6-8 months. Weight-band-wise monthly strips are issued to the patient.

There is a significant difference between the flow of DS-TB drugs and Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (DR-TB) drugs under the National TB Elimination Program (NTEP).  The process of DS-TB drug flow in NTEP is explained below:

  • There is a centralised procurement mechanism under NTEP where the Central TB Division (CTD) procures drugs for all states at the central level and supplies the same to Central Medical Services Society (CMSS)/ Government Medical Stores Depots (GMSDs).
  • The GMSDs/ CMSS then dispatch the DS-TB drugs to State Drug Stores (SDSs) or districts based on the quarterly reports submitted to CTD through Ni-kshay Aushadhi.
  • The replenishment of DS-TB drugs from CTD to SDSs through Release Orders (RO) takes around 15-20 days.
  • The districts transfer the drugs to the Tuberculosis Units (TUs), which in turn supply them to the Peripheral Health Institutes (PHIs), who then issue them to the patients.

 

Figure: Flowchart depicting the flow of DS-TB drugs

DS-TB Drug Distribution Management

  • This whole process of drug distribution is carried out through a well-defined transportation mechanism/ Third-Party Logistics (3PL).
  • In case of critical situations, provision to issue the drugs directly to the districts is also available.
  • The SDS/ districts should follow up with the GMSDs/ CMSS in case of delay in receipt of drugs after receipt of the RO from the CTD.
  • The SDSs should have at least a reserve stock of 3 months of consumption of DS-TB drugs in the state at the beginning of the quarter.
  • To ensure sufficient stock of all drugs, as per stocking norms, at Peripheral Health Institution (PHI)/ Tuberculosis Unit (TU), District TB Centre (DTC) also need to have a reserve stock of three months of DS-TB drugs at the beginning of the quarter.
  • Once SDS receives the reports from DTCs through Ni-kshay Aushadhi, it takes around 10 days for SDS to process the requirement (from all districts).

 

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Question     Answer 1     Answer 2     Answer 3     Answer 4     Correct answer     Correct explanation     Page id     Part of Pre-test     Part of Post-test    
How many days does it take to replenish DS-TB drugs from CTD to SDSs through Release Orders? 3-5 days 5-7 days 7-10 days 15-20 days 4 The replenishment of drugs from CTD to SDSs through Release Orders takes around 15-20 days.      Yes  Yes

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