The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has launched the National Electronic Pharmacy Platform (NEPP) in Accra on Monday.

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The national ePharmacy, which is the first national-scale ePharmacy platform in Africa, is a digital convergence of licensed pharmacies across the country, which will enable Ghanaians to have access to prescribed medicines and buy by making an order with a mobile phone through the ePharmacy app, website or a shortcode, and have the medicine delivered to a requested location
Launching the NEEP, Vice President Bawumia, who challenged the Pharmacy Council to go digital in 2019 and supported the implementation of the NEPP through his office, expressed delight at the successful execution of the project and the immense benefits it will bring to Ghanaians in the delivery of healthcare.


"I recall with fondness that in 2019, in line with the government’s digitalization drive, I challenged the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana to take steps in ensuring that Pharmacy services are digitized to ensure prudent regulation of the services provided in the dispensing of medications and other services," Dr. Bawumia said.

"Today’s event is historic for the reason that, for the first time in our nation, we are going to deploy a National Electronic Pharmacy Platform which will enable over 30 million Ghanaians to have access to prescribed medicines in a more convenient, cost-effective and quality assured manner, scaling over counterfeit and inferior medicines."

The operationalisation of the ePharmacy platform is such that every drug request entered into the system, is controlled by a team of professionals and registered pharmacists, who, based on the legality and availability of the drug, dispense the medication to the patient in a trust-worthy manner.
This, Dr. Bawumia noted, will not only make drugs easily accessible and promote competitive pricing, it will also help reduce the sale of illegal drugs.

"Most often, people are faced with the difficulty of driving quite a distance just to find cost-efficient and reliable pharmacies to purchase medications. The situation most times has led to Pharmacy operators preying on the vulnerability of patients to inflate prices or offer fake substitutes for the medication sought," the Vice President noted.
"Buying online is easy and convenient. But if you consider buying medicines online, you need to be cautious. Unfortunately, many online shops and Internet platforms sell medicines illegally. If you buy illegal medicines physically or online, at best you risk spending money on something that might have no effect, at worst the medicine has serious side effects or puts your life at risk and may result in even death."

"The introduction of the National ePharmacy Platform for short NEPP is meant to safely and securely make available medicines, reduce the burden of cost and save time."

Source: graphic.com
 
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