How pharmacies are making savings from drug procurement through CHAG-PharmAccess platform

The Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) has been explaining how some members have been making savings from drug procurement through CHAG - PharmAccess Med4All digital platform.

According to the Executive Director of CHAG, Dr. Peter Yeboah, the digital platform, has offered health providers the avenue to purchase trusted medicines on a platform that directly connects them with selected group of accredited distributors.

"The Med4All platform showed us that some facilities had paid much higher prices for medication in the open market. Now the monetary savings from the Med4All platform can be spent more effectively on other essential activities," he said whilst providing details of how the newly introduced platform was helping CHAG.

CHAG is a network of 344 health facilities and health training institutions owned by 34 different Christian church denominations.

Although only about seven percent of all health facilities in Ghana fall under CHAG, they provide about 30 percent of healthcare services.

Many of the facilities are located in remote, rural, and resource-restricted areas. Consequently, CHAG significantly contributes to the provision of care, especially to the less privileged in Ghana.

Dr. Yeboah noted that there are a lot of gaps in the healthcare delivery system in Ghana. “There are gaps to fill in terms of accessibility, quality of care and sustainable healthcare financing. But we also see significant progress being made in all areas, encouraging me to look at the future with a sense of optimism.’’

The CHAG Executive Director is pleased that in terms of accessibility, primary health services are now much better accessible’’. 

Looking at 2022, Dr. Yeboah added: "we sometimes take it for granted that everyone sees the benefits of digital innovations, but in fact, adopting a digital approach requires a culture change. Thankfully, CHAG sees promising political leadership and a passionate movement towards digitalization in the country, at government agencies, the NHIA and the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (HeFRA). So, moving forward, CHAG would consolidate the existing innovations and advocate together with PharmAccess and other partners to declare this year as a Digital Year. This would help enable and accelerate progress towards Ghana’s target to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC).