The Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) and Tigo, a telecommunication company, have unveiled an electronic product to assist patients to remember what medicines have been prescribed to them.
The product - mHealth - allows patient medication details to be recorded by the dispensing pharmacist or doctor and sent immediately by text (SMS) to his or her phone.
Dr Alex Dodoo, President of the PSGH who made this known to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Monday, said the facility would provide a personal portable medication record for the patient to facilitate the process.
"mHealth makes it possible for automatic reminders to the be sent to patients on when and how to take their medicines," he said.
mHealth was developed by Tigo, in collaboration with the University of New York, USA, Sante-Afrique International of Ghana, World Health Organisation (WHO), Collaborating Centre for Advocacy and Training in Pharmacovilance at the University of Ghana Medical School, the Uppsala Monitoring Centre Sweden (Africa Division) and is being implemented in key pharmacies by the PSGH.
Dr Dodoo expressed belief that the innovation is the first in the world, adding: "mHealth would provide immense benefits to both patients and health planners."
The President of PSGH said in areas like diabetes and hypertension where lack of adherence to treatment leads to negative health outcomes including death, mHealth would make a significant difference by "providing daily reminders to patients to take their medicines and helping doctors and pharmacists to check up on their patients if the patients so wish".