Work

Open-Data Decision Support for Critical Medicines Availability in Urban Supply Chains Under Disruptions: Evidence from Kyiv and Lviv

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Disruptions in urban supply chains increase the risk of reduced access to medicines whose continuous availability is important for public health. This article develops an open-data decision support system (DSS) framework for assessing medicine availability under shortage and node-failure scenarios. The empirical application combines redeemed e-prescription data from the Ukrainian reimbursement program for 2022–2025 with the registry of dispensing points under National Health Service of Ukraine contracts and applies a unified scenario design to Kyiv and Lviv. The results show that demand is more concentrated in Lviv: the top 10 dispensing nodes account for 29.7% of redeemed e-prescriptions, compared with 14.2% in Kyiv. The proposed DSS supports the redistribution of limited available volume across spatial zones; it does not generate additional supply. Its value lies in identifying where lower-tail coverage, service coverage gaps, and redistribution-distance constraints should be monitored under explicitly defined stress-test assumptions. The framework is therefore positioned as a scenario-based planning tool rather than as a real-time inventory-management system.

Source: Urban Science

DOI: 10.3390/urbansci10060330

Authors: Olena Zayats, Oksana Mulesa, Mykola Palinchak

Institutions: Uzhhorod National University, University of Prešov

Language: English

Topic: Facility Location and Emergency Management

Subfield: Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Industry, innovation and infrastructure, Sustainable cities and communities, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,930