REVAMPING THE DRUG TESTING SYSTEM IN PUNJAB: PUBLIC MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES IN A MULTILEVEL GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK

This case is about the various management challenges faced by Ali Jan, the Secretary of the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department (P&SHD) of the Punjab Government, in revamping drug testing laboratories (DTLs) of Punjab in a multi-level governance (MLG) framework. In 2015, 41% of the samples that DTLs had declared ‘according to standards’ and, therefore, fit for use in public hospitals were declared substandard by the Laboratory of the Government Chemist (LGC), UK. The Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, who was already under pressure due to a series of high-profile incidences of use of spurious medicine in public hospitals in Punjab, asked Ali Jan to comprehensively reform the drug testing system. Accordingly, Ali Jan affected several changes in the system. The objective of this case is to introduce students to public sector reform challenges in an MLG framework. Public managers often find themselves in situations where the success of their management reforms hinges upon active support from actors on whom they exercise little direct influence.