Docfan Academy

Good Distribution Practice (GDP) is a simple idea: a medicine must leave the manufacturer in good condition and reach the patient in the same condition. GDP covers every step in between, including your store room.

The main parts

• Receiving. Check every delivery before it enters stock.
• Storing. Keep products clean and dry, off the floor, away from walls and direct sun, in the conditions written on the label.
• Transporting. Vehicles must be clean and must protect products from heat, rain and theft. Never leave cartons in a hot parked van.
• Temperature control. Cold-chain items stay at 2 °C to 8 °C. Many other products are kept at controlled room temperature, roughly 15 °C to 25 °C, but always follow the label, because some say 'below 25 °C' or 'below 30 °C'. Read and record temperatures every day.
• Documentation. If it is not written down, an inspector cannot know it happened.
• Traceability. Every delivery is recorded by batch number, so you can tell who supplied it and who received it.

Avoiding mix-ups

Products with similar names or packs cause errors. Keep look-alike products apart, label shelves clearly and keep each batch together. Never keep loose tablets in unlabelled containers, and never mix different products in one box.

Recalls

When a recall notice arrives, you must find the affected batch quickly. With batch records you can do it in minutes. Without them you search shelf by shelf, for days.

GDP is less a big system than a set of good habits. Repeat them every day and the patient receives the product exactly as the manufacturer intended.