Sub Challenge 3

How might we provide facilitation services to connect pharmacists, clinics and labs in order to coordinate the provision and administration of care to allow for continuous treatment (e.g. follow-up appointments, adherence to treatment protocols) for the benefit of patients and care providers?

Target Market

The target market for this challenge were an array of stakeholders including the following: NCD patients, medical and para-medical service providers, home care givers, technology service providers, data scientists and analysts, community/entrepreneurial pharmacists and insurance service providers.

Quotes from Respondents

From interviews concerning unmet needs

Some patients are not able to afford exactly what the prescriber has given to them ….so knowing the economic background of the patient can help solve this challenge
-- Health Insurer

The way they design their prescription forms should be modified…..consulting room phone numbers should be on the prescription
-- Pharmacist

They hardly explain procedures at the hospital especially the public hospitals…same at the pharmacy
-- Diabetic Patient

From interviews concerning pricing

Some want to buy the blood pressure machine/glucose machine to test at home rather than coming to the pharmacy….the cost of the machines are expensive. Only a few are able to afford, especially in the rural and low income areas
-- Pharmacist

The cost of any integrated system transferred to the patient will make drugs even more expensive.
-- Hypertensive Patient

The question I ask myself is when you are old and are not working, would you have the money to purchase that same medication that you have been on the greater part of your adult life
-- Hypertensive Patient

From interviews concerning behavioural constraints

Some have deviated from drugs for a long time
-- Community Pharmacist

I am a patient but don’t like going to the hospital…
-- Hypertensive Patient

Some have shifted from orthodox to herbal…facing the same challenges…by the time they get to the pharmacy their sugar/blood pressure is very high because they have stopped using the orthodox medicine to control the disease
-- Community Pharmacist

From interviews concerning technology and data

We need to be sure of what information we want and what information is being recorded at the point of serving each patient
-- Health Insurer

Patient privacy should be of top most importance
-- Ulcer Patient

We don’t keep a proper database in our facilities to help the patients
-- Community Pharmacist

Unmet Need

From the primary research conducted, the following findings were identified.

Medical Doctors

  1. Early Detection
  2. Quality Historical Data
  3. Patient Bio-data
  4. Medication History

Health Insurers

  1. Quality Data which is easily accessible, retrievable and usable for policy decisions. Only source of data is National Health Insurance.

Pharmacists

  1. Lack of Access to Prescribers or Doctors
  2. Patient Economic Challenge
  3. Non Adherence to Prescribed Medication
  4. Lack of Knowledge on the Disease or Diagnosis, Resorting to Herbal

Patient

  1. Confidentialiy of Data
  2. Detection, Supervision and Monitoring
  3. Lack of Access to Medical Personnel after consulting room No Support after consulting room (e.g. Reminders about next appointments, to take medicines and encouragement).
  4. Lack of Empathy from Medical Care Givers

Market Demand

The market demand for the solution determined by the willingness of the respondents to utilize a solution stemmed from the initially proposed HMW Question.

The potential of having an integrated health care platform using technology with the identified stakeholders was a shared insight, with stakeholders agreeing on the need to work together.

Technology is identified as the major enabler for creating access and opportunity for facilitation.

All Respondents were interested to participate and pay for an integrated platform.

Patients indicated they could pay quarterly (600 GHS) or monthly (GHS 200)

Market Constraints

Key Behavioral or Market constraints and challenges identified.

Respondents expressed the following concerns:

Protection of Patient Privacy

Protection of Data for all stakeholders.

Lack of empathy on the part of doctors

Patients wariness of reach of data sharing

Lack of knowledge on the part of patients esp on generic medicine, and nature of ailments.

Lack of Coordination between health care providers

Insurance Companies don’t coordinate health care

Frequent changes in doctors pushes patients to alternative care eg. herbal medicine.



A Policy Advisor and another industry player recommended that the necessary legal requirements are complied with for the use of patient information which requires compliance with the following:

  • Patient Data Collection, Sharing and Rightful Use
  • Patient Data Protection
  • Ghana Data Protection Act 2012
  • Data Protection Commission Ghana
  • Health Facilities Regulatory Agency
  • Patients Charter

Resources

Research data and other useful materials related to this challenge.

Primary

Secondary