Dialysis treatment to be captured under NHIS if elected as president - Dr. Bawumia

The Vice President of Ghana and the flagbearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has indicated that he intends to introduce dialysis treatment under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) when voted into power.

He made this revelation during his tour in the Upper East Region, where he met with the clergy among other groups to share his vision and policies with them to solicit their votes.

He detailed that some funds will be released to help facilitate this cause.

The presidential hopeful pointed out that the decision to add dialysis treatment under the scheme became crucial in the wake of the rising rate of kidney-related cases among Ghanaians.

"We are seeing a lot of kidney problems affecting many of our citizens across the country," he said.

"And so what we are going to do is to bring dialysis treatment under the NHIS," he added.

Dr. Bawumia noted that the treatment for kidney problems could actually be produced in the country. He expressed enthusiasm that when the technology for producing the treatment is brought into the country, the cost of the treatment will significantly decrease.

The flagbearer for the NPP hinted that the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIS) will disburse 2 million cedis in the next few weeks to support dialysis treatment. He added that more funds will be needed as it expands into the NHIS.

The presidential hopeful mentioned the introduction of drones in the health sector as part of the numerous interventions he has championed to help boost health delivery.

"We have implemented Zipline medical drones to assist in healthcare delivery, especially in rural areas," he said.

He stated that the decision to introduce the Drone Delivery Service was informed by an unfortunate incident his late father experienced in a health facility.

"My father underwent an operation at the Tamale Teaching Hospital. That night, he was losing blood and we went to the blood bank, but it was locked. We continuously called the person who had the key all night, but we could not reach him, and my father unfortunately died in the morning," he recalled.

Dr. Bawumia said the incident left an indelible mark in his memory, compelling him to introduce drones in Ghana when he read about the technology.

He pointed out that the drones currently deliver medicines to about 2,800 hospitals across the country.

"There are six centers in the country, and they are saving lives every day. The interesting part is that Ghana has the largest medical Drone Delivery Service in the world," he emphasized.

Dr. Bawumia also stated that Hydroxyurea treatment for sickle cell sufferers as well as childhood cancers have already been covered under the Health Insurance Scheme to help relieve patients of the costs involved in their treatment.

Dr. Bawumia also revealed his intention to digitize medical care; a system that will make use of identification cards rather than folders.

"You no longer need to find your folder when you get to the hospital. You provide your ID, they will input it into the computer, and all your medical records will be available," he assured.

This, he said, will ease the burden for patients of always waiting for their folders to be found before being attended to.

The presidential hopeful also mentioned the rollout of a policy called E-Pharmacy, which will begin soon.

He explained that an online system will provide a platform for customers to purchase FDA-approved medical drugs.

He noted that so far, 2,456 pharmacies are on the platform adding that the system will create an avenue where patients can upload their prescriptions for easy access to drugs.

"You can upload the prescription and find out which pharmacy near you has the medicine and the price of the medicine at the same time," he elaborated.

He noted that the Upper East Region has about 24 pharmacies registered on the platform.

Dr. Bawumia noted that he has led and initiated 33 policies as a vice president and seen them delivered.

The presidential hopeful pointed out that if he has been able to bring in such interventions in his limited constitutional role as a vice president to help the country, he will be able to do more for the country when voted into power as president in December 2024.