Development of a Dashboard for Tracking the Quantity of Essential Drugs for Emergency Situations Available in Pharmaceutical Companies’ Inventory with the Country with the Microsoft Power BI Program

Abstract

Objective: To develop a dashboard for tracking the quantity of essential drugs for emergency situations available in the pharmaceutical companies’ inventory (drug inventory) within the country in the form of data visualization charts meeting usage requirements by using the Microsoft Power BI Desktop program. Methods: The researchers identified problems with monitoring the drug inventory using the existing system based on Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. Identification of the problems was conducted by collecting the opinions of 5 pharmacists working under the Subcommittee for Monitoring and Solving Drug Shortages. Subsequently, the researchers analyzed system requirements and developed a dashboard for reporting the inventory levels using the Microsoft Power BI Desktop. The performance of the dashboard was then assessed based on the ISO 9241 guidelines for evaluating the effectiveness of data presentation using charts in the following dimensions: 1) efficiency 2) effectiveness and 3) user satisfaction. Evaluations were conducted by 3 IT experts and 5 pharmacists working in related roles by using a 5-point-Likert scale. Results: The developed dashboard for monitoring emergency drug inventory consists of a summary page showing the list of available drugs classified by drug names and drug groups within specified timeframes; and a details page showing information of each drug item (dosage form, strength, inventory level, monthly drug sales of the sellers, as well as names of license holders). Three IT experts evaluated the performance of both pages, giving average scores of 91.67% and 95% respectively. The pharmacists rated the system after using it with average scores on efficiency, effectiveness and user satisfaction of 4.65 ± 0.41, 4.70 ± 0.40 and 4.60 ± 0.20, respectively. Conclusion: The developed dashboard functions as intended, with adequate efficiency, effectiveness and high user satisfaction, indicating its ability to meet objectives and provide better ease of use compared to the previous system. This will enable more effective tracking of the quantity of essential drugs for emergency situations available in the pharmaceutical companies’ inventory within the country.