‘Partner NHIS to enhance quality health care delivery’

Pharmacists and other health care delivery services have been asked to collaborate and partner the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to create innovative ways of financing health care in the country.

The partnership, if well implemented, would reduce wastage in the system, stop the NHIS from collapsing and also ensure quality health care delivery.

Dr Daniel Asare Chief Executive Officer of the Cape Coast Regional Teaching Hospital, made the call on Tuesday at the opening of a three-day Pharmacy sub-sector Senior Managers Performance Review meeting and scientific seminar in Cape Coast.

The workshop which is being attended by pharmacists from the various hospitals and health directorates nation-wide, representative from Pharmaceutical Council and Foods and Drug Authority is to among others to review the performances of the pharmacists and come out with pragmatic plans to address their challenges.

It is under the theme “Working Together towards Quality Pharmaceutical Care”.|

Dr Asare said pharmacists were currently facing a lot of challenges including the delay by the NHIS to reimburse them stressing that some schemes were in arrears of six to twelve months.

He called for adequate resourcing of the scheme to stem the collapse of health care delivery in the country.

Mrs Martha Gyansa Lutterodt, Director of Pharmaceutical Services said pharmacists would continue to collaborate with other team members in the health care delivery system to ensure quality health care in the country.

She said it was time for pharmacists to be abreast with the current health care needs of their clients and come out with drugs and medicines that would cure news diseases that were emerging in the continent.

Mrs Gyansa-Lutterodt also advised them to do operational research work and to publish their work to introduce them to the global world.

Mrs Edith Andrew-Annan, Director of Special Medicines in the office of World Health Organization (WHO) underscored the important role pharmacists play in quality health delivery in the country and asked that they should be visible, responsible, accessible, competent and committed to confidentiality.

Mrs Andrew-Annan regretted that pharmacists had allowed their work to be taken over by quacks and tasked them to work hard to get back their profession by providing effective medication therapy management systems, implement pharmaceutical management and ensurequality assurance.

She said in the performance of their duties they should focus mainly on the client/patients, systems and process, measurement of medicines, teamwork and endeavour to create better outcomes and that they should actively involve themselves in the Expanded programme on Immunization since it deals with the dispensing of medicines .

Touching on Procurement, she urged them to be transparent, professional and ethical so as to promote equity and access to ensure accountability and that they should establish a good inventory and information management system.

The participants would treat topics such as Anti-microbial Resistance Activities, IT solution to stock management and Supply Chain report and Issues as well as Human Resource Management Issues.