Task Shifting and Vendor Managed Inventory

October 6, 2010

Tinei ChitsikeLogistics Advisor

USAID | DELIVER PROJECTZimbabwe Field Office

Public Health Challenges

• Lack of financial & human resources• Attracting, recruiting and retaining skilled health

workers• Poor working conditions, low motivation & brain drain• Economic challenges, wage bill restrictions & salary

freezes

Task Shifting

• Move work from non-specialized to specialized health workers

• Establish a core group of professionals who use formal procedures

• Train, certify, mentor/coach, and routinely assess quality

• Sustain motivation and performance levels.

Opportunities

• To a certain extent, relieves dependence on certain scarce qualified staff

• Improves workforce skills mix and health-related system efficiency.

Risks• Professional responsibility vs. legal liability• Potential institutional and professional

resistance.

Lessons Learned

• Do not use task shifting in isolation but as part of the overall strategy

• Establish clear protocols to reduce workload and simplify tasks

• Progressively increase and diversify workload and implement easy-to-use technologies

• Provide adequate training, support, and supervision to manage stress and burnout.

Vendor managed inventory

• VMI is a form of task shifting • Is a means of optimising supply chain performance in

which the vendor is responsible for maintaining the client’s inventory.

• Vendor has visibility of the client’s inventory and is responsible for generating orders and replenishing stocks

• Commercial sector–soft drinks, public sector–DTTU

Benefits of VMI: DTTU in Zimbabwe

Recommendations (Task Shifting)

• As part of the broad strategy, mobilize resources to address conditions of service

• Understand country context before beginning• Assess impact on outcomes, efficiency, and

effectiveness of health care delivery• Encourage stakeholder participation.

Recommendations (VMI)

• Use VMI program to yield positive results by increasing availability of commodities

• Use VMI to potentially achieve cost efficiencies by minimizing supply chain cost drivers, e.g., training

• Ensure management capacity is in place for VMI—use third party logistics provider.

Thank You

Questions?