Supply is already fragile
Medicine supply has become harder to rely on around the world. In the US, pharmacists tracked a record 323 active drug shortages in early 2024, and more than 200 were still active in 2026. When supply is tight, knowing exactly what you have, and where, matters more than ever
Active drug shortages tracked by pharmacists (US)
Where stock goes missing
Medicines dispensed but not recorded straight away. Ward stock that nobody counts. Items that quietly expire at the back of a shelf. Several stores in one hospital that can’t see each other’s numbers. Each gap is small. Together, they make the system unreliable at the exact moment it’s needed
What a good pharmacy system does
It updates stock with every dispense, not at the end of the day. It warns you before an item drops below a safe level. It flags medicines that are close to expiry. It shows stock across the main pharmacy, ward stores and sister branches in one view. And it learns from usage, so you can see which items run low every winter or every Ramadan and stock up in time