NB: on WHO (world health organisation} webpage you can find information about St Lucia health care and referencing pages for information include below in the WHO document. HOWEVER literature review should include more recent articles from 2015 and up

Topic: Outbound Logistics of Medication in Privately Owned Pharmacies in St Lucia

Research Method: Qualitative (Questionnaire)
Interpretivism (Focus Group)
Inductive (Observation – Pattern – Tentative Hypothesis – Theory)

Aim: Why? – To learn the logisitics in select privately owned pharmacies in St Lucia.
What am i trying to prove? – Whether private pharmacies carry all essential medications and follow protocol regarding storage and disposal practices.
Will it be of any use? – Private pharmacies and Ministry of Health
(See below for indepth aim)

Research Questions focus points:

1)Obtaining continuous supply and availability of essential medicines;

What are the essential medications that you required to carry? (Most important part of this         focus: List will be provided to pharmacists to tick off)
What is your procurement process?
Do you order from foreign manufacturers, distributors or wholesalers?
What is your lead time when procuring?
What are the factors which affects lead time?
How is medication transported? 
Do you have a minimum order quantity for all medications?
How often do you restock or purchase?
Do you experience shortage of supplies?
What is the challenge when you experience shortage of suppliers?;
    Is it because of over stock in an item?
    Is it a new item release?
    Is continuous supply a challenge?
    Is lack of capital an issue?
What is the major reason that affects product outages?
Is there a seasonality for essential medications?
Do you carry a generic substitute for essential medications?
    Is client inability to pay a challenge?
What's the percentage of stock is generic?
What percentage of stock is name brand?
What's the percentage of sales for generic as opposed to name brand?
Do you fulfill special order requests if you're out of an item or do you loose the sale?
Does loss of sale for a prescription fulfillment affect customer relations long term?
What is the customer age range for majority of sales?
What drives sales?; 
    Over-the-counter?
    Prescription?
Is competition a challenge?

2)Storage and inventory store management;

Is your inventory system automated or manual?
How do you store inventory?
What is the storeroom temparutes?
Do you keep a data log for temperatures?
Who has access to storeroom?
Is are clearly marked authorized personnel only sign?
Is it locked?
Do you have cameras in storeroom?
Do you practice FEFO - First expire first out
Is there a system to track damage or expired goods?
Is there a computer to fulfill prescriptions?
How are items labelled?
Are stock reconciliations conducted? 
    If yes, how often?
When an item is defected what is the procedure?
When an item is damaged during shipment what is the procedure?
Do you have a fire extinguisher ?
Do you have an appropriate space for condemned inventory?
Do you have an appropriate space for disposal items?
Do you have an appropriate space for recalled and quarantined inventory?
Are you contracted with pest control agents?
Is there a written guideline for pest control agents to execute duties? 
Is there a specific area for hazardous substances presenting special risks of abuse, fire or explosion 

3)Disposal methods and practices;

How do you dispose?
Who conducts disposal?
    Is it conducted by the pharmacy?
    Is it done by an third party on your behalf?
    Does the government assist?
Do patients return expired goods?
What is the general reason for expired inventory?
    No demand for product? 
    Received item near expiry? 
    Change in prescribing pattern from doctors?
    New product on the market?
    Overstock in item?
Do you practise reverse logistics;
Do you return expired medication to suppliers? 
Do you return damaged/quality defected medication to suppliers?
Do you receive expired medication from patients?
Do you receive damaged/quality defected medication?
Do you receive unused medicines from patients?
Are you willing to collect expired medication?
Are you willing to collect damaged medication?
Are you willing to collect unused medication? 
Do you have expired/damaged product currently?
Are you required to report expired medication?
    If yes, to whom?
Have you disposed expired/damaged product before?
Is disposal a challenge?