Community Pharmacists to offer services under NHIS
The Community Practice Pharmacists Association (CPPA) has announced plans to collaborate with the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to extend healthcare access by accrediting One Thousand Community Pharmacies nationwide.
This announcement was made during a CPPA Virtual General Meeting themed “Providing Quality Care Through Health Insurance.”
The initiative aims to benefit both Ghanaian residents and visitors in need of healthcare services. By accrediting community pharmacies, the goal is to improve access to high-quality healthcare, in line with the NHIA’s mission of establishing a sustainable, progressive, and equitable social health insurance scheme.
Chairman of the CPPA, Emmanuel Kwaku Ireland, elucidated that the initiative aims to provide financial risk protection for Ghanaians against the expenses of essential healthcare services.
He emphasized that this effort would guarantee public access to prescribed medications covered by the NHIS, coupled with comprehensive education on proper medicine dosage.
“The collaboration would also enhance access to quality healthcare by creating a sustainable, progressive, and equitable social health insurance to the persons covered by the Scheme,” Dr Ireland explained.
Giving the keynote address, Deputy CEO of the NHIA, Dr Mrs Yaa Pokuaa Baiden, highlighted her outfit’s readiness to collaborate with stakeholders in Ghana’s healthcare delivery system, emphasizing the importance of granting credentials to facilities based on predetermined industry standards.
“For The Authority to attain this objective, we continuously work in collaboration with relevant agencies especially those involved in Ghana’s health delivery system. The overarching objective of all these collaborations is to ensure that healthcare providers operating under the Scheme implement policies that guarantee quality basic healthcare to members of a Scheme. These policies include granting credentials to facilities, undertaking service utilization reviews at these facilities, and sometimes technology assessments.” Dr Baiden indicated.
She added, “In granting credentials, the Authority assesses facilities against predetermined industry standards. These standards are determined by a team of experts across Ghana’s Health Sector. In line with changes that occur in our industry, the Authority reviews the credentialing standards every five years. This is to ensure that the standards based on which credentials are granted are abreast with changes in the industry. Credentialing application is currently online only.”
She further disclosed that, by the close of 2023, approximately 140 out of the country’s 5,300 pharmacies had registered to offer services under the NHIS.
She expressed concern regarding the low participation and urged additional pharmacies to engage and partner with the Scheme, highlighting the enhanced payment of claims since 2020.