Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has launched the National Electronic Pharmacy Platform (NEPP) which aims to give the public the opportunity to access pharmaceutical services remotely, using mobile phones or computers with internet.
The major pharmaceutical companies in the country provide retail services on the E-platform to customers upon request from any part of the country.
“This convenient means of purchasing pharmaceutical services has many benefits,” Vice President Bawumia said when he launched the NEEP in Accra yesterday.
Among the many benefits of the platform, aside from the convenience of purchasing drugs and getting them delivered to customers, is the possibility of using the platform to eradicate fake and substandard drugs from the pharmaceutical ecosystem.
“The Pharmacy Council and its allied partners have been working closely on ways to bring improvement in the sale and distribution of medicines while protecting consumers. After years of planning and preparation it has yielded results,” he said.
Commending the stakeholders for their commitment to make the platform a success, he said contactless pharmaceutical services was a promising sector globally.
“Most often, people are faced with the difficulty of finding efficient and reliable pharmacies. The situation has led to pharmacy operators preying on the vulnerability of patients to inflate prices or offer fake substitutes for the medication sought,” he said.
The operationalisation of the platform is such that every drug request is controlled by a team of professional registered pharmacists who, based on availability and approval, dispense the medication to the patient in a trustworthy manner.
Dr Bawumia said the platform would make it possible to regulate the growth of the digital health space in the country, noting that the platform would be integrated with all the e-healthcare delivery systems.
The Deputy Minister of Health, MahamaAseiSeini, sought to leverage the power of technology to deliver quality healthcare services to Ghanaians and ensure that healthcare was accessible to all, irrespective of geographic locations.
“The platform requires no registration fee as a consumer,” he said, and urged the pharmaceutical council to work to make the project successful.
He commended all stakeholders who contributed in diverse ways to build the platform and entreated them to support the operational efficiency of the e-platform.
BY YAW KYEI
