The total stock kept on hand at any storage point to protect against uncertainty, permit bulk purchasing, minimize waiting time, increase transportation efficiency and buffer against seasonal fluctuations.

Drug distribution system in which each peripheral facility determines the drug quantities to be requisitioned from the procurement unit or warehouse. Compare push system

Complete absence of an item that is normally expected to be on hand. In many cases, this can be misleading as an indicator, because a warehouse may always reserve a small stock - the warehouse is not literally out of stock, but there is a functional stockout because the warehouse will not issue the reserved stock.

Classification of inventory items into three categories (A, B and C) according to the value of their annual usage, which is used for analysing drug consumption and utilization, comparing actual versus planned purchases, justifying procurement budgets, guiding procurement patterns, and setting priorities for stock management.

Method by which medicines are divided, according to their annual usage (unit cost times annual consumption), into class A items (the 10-20% of items that account for 75-80% of the funds spent), class B items (with intermediate usage rates), and class C items (the vast majority of items with low individual usage, the total of which accounts for 5-10 [..]

That portion of a medicine (drug) that has therapeutic properties.

(also compliance

The smallest unit in which a medicine can be conveniently dispensed or administered. It is used in quantification, reorder formulas, and comparison of prices of different-sized bottles or vials. Typical basic units are tablet or capsule, mL (for liquids), and gram (for ointments and creams).

The quantity of a medicine produced in one production run.

The rate and extent of availability of an active ingredient from a dosage form as measured by the concentration/time curve in the systemic circulation or its excretion in the urine.