Volume 21, Number 2—February 2015
Research
Optimizing Distribution of Pandemic Influenza Antiviral Drugs
, Hsin-Chan Huang, David P. Morton, Gregory P. Johnson, Alexander Gutfraind, Alison P. Galvani, Bruce Clements, and Lauren A. Meyers
Table 2
Expected access for antiviral drugs during the 2009 influenza pandemic provided by 3 drug distribution networks, Texas, USA*
| Characteristic | Texas 2009 network | Optimized network† | All pharmacies network |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small ZIP code area access, % | 34.5 | 60.5 | 63.8 |
| Statewide access, % | 88.0 | 90.8 | 95.2 |
| No. ZIP code area dispensing points | 723 | 723 | 1,023 |
| Population living within dispensing ZIP code areas, % | 76.5 | 79.3 | 91.8 |
| Average miles traveled outside ZIP code area (SD)‡ | 4.5 (3.8) | 3.8 (3.1) | 5.7 (4.0) |
| Median miles traveled outside ZIP code area§ | 3.0 | 2.6 | 4.2 |
*ZIP code area, US postal code area. A small ZIP code area is an area with <1,000 underinsured persons.
†Initially, we optimized 75% of dispensing points (542) to maximize access solely in small ZIP code areas and recorded the access achieved. We then optimized all 723 dispensing points to maximize statewide access and constrained the solution to achieve ≥95% of the small ZIP code area access achieved in the initial optimization.
‡Population-weighted average travel distance to nearest dispensing pharmacy considering only ZIP code areas without their own dispensing pharmacies. When all pharmacies dispense antiviral drugs (fourth column), the longer average distance is an artifact of few persons living in ZIP code areas without pharmacies.
§Population-weighted median travel distance to nearest dispensing pharmacy, considering only ZIP code areas without their own dispensing pharmacies. When all pharmacies dispense antiviral drugs (fourth column), the longer median distance is an artifact of few persons living in ZIP code areas without pharmacies.