Ghana's First E-Health Service Launched

Prof. Agyemang Badu Akosa (left), prof. Edmund Delle (middle) and Mr. Patrick Dasoberi at the launch

Ghana's first electronic health delivery service to enable doctors to reach their patients online and bring healthcare to the door steps of the citizenry has been launched in Accra.

The E-health initiative, a remote doctor/patient interface, allows patients to see their doctors without leaving their home or office.

With this service, doctors are able to offer 24-hour online patient examination and advice without the patients leaving their homes or offices.

However, it does not seek to prevent patients from visiting hospitals but to augment existing healthcare delivery services.

Speaking at the launch on the theme, 'Convenience in HealthCare Delivery', Mr. Patrick Dasoberi, originator of the E-health initiative, said it would serve as a platform for doctors to share ideas and experiences relating to patients as well as a network for pharmacists, laboratory technicians, volunteers, service couriers, who are the core of the scheme.

He said good record keeping would be a key to the success of the initiative, stating that, 'We do not handle emergency cases'.

Mr. Dasoberi said management was planning to place an Electronic Kiosk fitted with e-health internet in some rural areas and operated by a volunteer and an interpreter.

Professor Agyemang Badu Akosa, a former Director General of Ghana Health Service, who launched the product, said the country's healthcare is patterned on the colonial model, and healthcare could only be assessed at the capital, regional and district levels, thereby creating a missing link in the peripherals.

He expressed the optimism that the electronic health service would improve medical care, adding that, 'If the initiative is rolled out properly many people would benefit from healthcare services irrespective of the distance, especially in a technologically advanced era'.

Prof Edmund Delle, Founder of Rabito Clinic, lauded the initiative but cautioned that sustainability was very crucial to the success of the scheme.

'What is the use of a specialist whose activities are confined to his office while the rural areas are underserved?' he asked rhetorically.

Prof Delle said 'an initiative which enables a doctor or specialist to reach out to more people without travelling too much for outreach programmes is very much welcomed'.

To assess the E-health service one has to go online to book an appointment with a doctor on www.ehealthghana.com after which an appointment coordinator would assign a doctor to a patient depending on the ailment.

By Cephas Larbi