Access to safer medicines made easier -As Dr Bawumia launches e-pharmacy

Vice-President Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has launched the National Electronic Pharmacy Policy and Guidelines (e-pharmacy) to ensure inclusive pharmaceutical care in Ghana.

Improving access healthcare
The e-pharmacy programme is part of government’s ongoing efforts to improve access to and delivery of healthcare to Ghanaians.

Digital platform for providing pharmaceutical services
It will also lead to full operationalisation of a digital platform for providing pharmaceutical services across the country next year.

It solves 4 critical concerns
The introduction of this cutting-edge health technology should help tackle at least four critical concerns in the healthcare system: Reduce pharmacist to patient ratio which is currently five times higher than the ratio recommended by the World Health Organisation; improve confidentiality and privacy of patient medical records; minimise wrong self-diagnosis and self-medication; and reduce counterfeit and substandard medication.

Transforming access to pharmaceutical care
When fully operational in 2022, the e-pharmacy programme is expected to transform access to pharmaceutical care in the country and make Ghana one of a handful of countries with a national scale e-pharmacy in the world.

Pharmaceutical companies converge on one digital platform
The process will have the pharmaceutical companies converge on one digital platform to address the difficulties of roaming and looking for medicines, ensure competitive pricing and sale of genuine medicines to the public.

Improving pharmacist to patient ratio
The launch of the e-pharmacy platform will help improve the pharmacist to patient ratio by reducing the need for physical contact with pharmacists.

Pharmacist to patient ratio is 1: 10,000
Ghana’s current pharmacist to patient ratio is 1: 10,000, which is five times higher than the 1:2,000 recommended by the World Health Organisation.

Lessening healthcare provider dependency
It will lessen healthcare provider dependency since subscribers can access vital health information with the help of a pharmacist without necessarily going to the pharmacy.

No need to travel far
Both patients and pharmacists will not need to travel far to receive or dispense medicines.

Ghana joins new pharmaceutical digital economy
With the national e-pharmacy platform, Ghana will be part of this new pharmaceutical digital economy.

Leveraging on technology
Dr Bawumia said leveraging on technology would help the delivery and overall management of pharmaceutical care and services in ways that improve access, efficiency and the availability of genuine medicines across the country.

He recalled that a few years ago, at the annual general meeting of pharmacists, he challenged the pharmacists to explore greater ways of infusing technology into their operations in ways that improves access, efficiency and the availability of medicines across the country, especially in rural and less urban areas.

The challenge, he said, has since been taken up through the leadership of the Pharmacy Council, Pharmaceutical Society and other stakeholders, leading to the creation of the policy and guidelines for the national e-pharmacy.

Dr Bawumia  said, “Today, we are here to launch a top-tier innovation that will transform access to pharmaceutical care in Ghana, complementing the government’s attempt to improve access to and delivery of healthcare to the near 30 million population.”

“How can we use technology to improve access to pharmaceutical care in Ghana in a manner that complements our traditional brick-and-mortar pharmacy?” he asked.

“Yes, there is that personal touch to the traditional face-to-face patient-pharmacist relationship, but there are ways that technology can improve access and delivery, especially to the large segment of the population scattered in the rural and less urban areas,” he stated.

Dr Bawumia disclosed that government recognises the gaps in health infrastructure and is committed to filling as many of the gaps as possible “in building our human resources, in our physical infrastructure, and in all the complementary aspects of our health system.”

He continued, “While tackling inadequate infrastructure in the health sector, it is disheartening to see people spend so much time moving from one pharmacy to the other in search of medication. The innovation in improving pharmacy access to our people through e-pharmacy can be a game changer in safeguarding the future of our youth and ensuring rational and responsible access to medicines on a scale we have not yet been able to achieve.”

“Today, we are adding to the growing list of digitised platforms. E-pharmacy should help us address concerns for the proliferation of fake drugs due to a direct link with the Food and Drugs Authority to approve all medicines dispensed by the pharmacies, unlicensed pharmacy operations, reduce disparities in the cost of medicines and tackle some of the major administrative and delivery issues that affect the practice,” Dr Bawumia stated.

The Vice-President lauded the Pharmacy Council, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana and the committee that worked tirelessly to respond to some of the challenges in the delivery of pharmaceutical services.

“The innovation in improving pharmacy access to our people through e-Pharmacy can be a game changer in safe-guarding the future of our youth and ensuring rational and responsible access to medicines on a scale we have not yet been able to achieve,” he said.

“At its full implementation, the e-pharmacy platform will enable the public to obtain genuine medicines from accredited pharmacies. The global e-pharmacy market is worth about $81 billion today and it is expected to grow to grow to $244 billion by 2027. The evidence from India also indicates that the national e-pharmacy is likely boost pharmaceutical sales by between 100-200%. It is therefore a win-win for all.”

“As we embark on this new path, please do not hesitate to give feedback to Pharmacy Council so that the policy and the system can be improved continuously with the ultimate goal of making it easier and safer for Ghanaians to access medicines in a responsible manner,” he said

The Vice-President urged all pharmacists to continue to educate the public on the dangers of taking substandard and counterfeit medicines.

“As we embark on this new path, please do not hesitate to give feedback to the Pharmacy Council to continuously improve the policy and the system with the ultimate goal of making it easier and safer for Ghanaians to access medicines in a responsible manner,” Dr Bawumia underscored.