Applying AHP to select drugs to be produced by anticipation in a chemotherapy compounding unit

This paper focuses on the application of the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) technique in the context of production and distribution of anti cancer drugs within the pharmacy department of a French hospital. This is achieved by evaluating how AHP can support the drug production planning process which aims at minimizing the cost associated with the drug preparation process while satisfying patients. The approach proposed has been applied to a case study which is the pharmaceutical chemotherapy compounding unit of the Georges Pompidou European Hospital (HEGP, AP-HP, Paris). Quantitative weightings from the AHP model are used to identify drugs that the pharmacy can produce in advance, i.e. on a MTS (make to stock) basis. Because of its ease of implementation and results it enabled to reach, the approach developed at Georges Pompidou has been extended to other pharmacies in France. More generally, the work carried out in this paper is an example of illustration of how AHP can be used (with its strengths and weaknesses) as a decision-support tool in health care management.