Cold chain medicines are drugs that need to be in a specific temperature for them to work. In this case, they have to remain cool, cold or frozen depending on the medicine for its efficacy to be maintained. However, recent power outages are causing much harm-to patients and to pharmacy owners as well. The details of this issue will amaze you. The load shedding exercise is affecting almost all sectors of the economy and the pharmaceutical sector is not exempted. Some medicines used by some patients are not working as it should be because their efficacy has been compromised due to unstable power supply. Here is a story of how an encounter with a patient gingered me to write this article into the public domain. Gloves on, disinfectant application-checked! Glucometer is ready…ready? And pinch! Blood oozed from her shaky tiny fingers and sample for her blood sugar testing was carried out. It turned out to be high…too high. My patient looked worried and she blamed her insulin citing that the...

The ministry of health is impressing on Ghanaians to bear with his outfit as steps are taken to overhaul and restructure the troubled National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). The sector minister, Alex Segbefia, says the government is aware of the challenges and agitations of Ghanaians about the scheme and will put smiles back on the faces of Ghanaians. The minister who was speaking at the 50th Anniversary celebration of the St. Francis Xavier Hospital at Assin Foso in the Central Region assured Ghanaians that measures being taken by government to completely overhaul the National health Insurance Scheme will be successful. He promised that after the overhaul, the scheme will be able to serve the purpose for which it was instituted.  “Government intends to intensify the relationship and to create opportunities for missions and the private sector to take more active part in service delivery. We are keenly examining the challenges you face with the National Health Insurance Scheme and ...

The key to prevention or delay of severe kidney disease is early detection and aggressive intervention -- while there's still time to slow down the progression to kidney failure . Medical care with early intervention can change the course of chronic kidney disease and help prevent the need for dialysis or a kidney transplant . Diabetes and high blood pressure account for two thirds of all cases of chronic kidney disease. By aggressively managing diabetes and high blood pressure with diet, exercise , and medications , you may be able to prevent kidney failure and help keep as much kidney function as possible. Know Your Risks for Kidney Disease Since diabetes and high blood pressure put you at risk of kidney disease, know where you stand with these risks. Do you have diabetes or high blood pressure? If so, are they under control? If you can, find out if diabetes, hypertension, or kidney disease runs in your family. Certain ethnic groups, such as African-Americans, Hispanics, ...

The Society of Private and Dental Practitioners says its members will continue to reject National Health Insurance Scheme(NHIS) cards at its facilities until the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) pays about eighty percent of the total debt owed private hospitals. Government recently released only 180 million cedis to the NHIA to offset part of its 460 million cedi debt owed service providers. Despite government’s intervention the Society insists it will revert to accepting NHIS cards only if the NHIA settles eighty percent of the debts owed member hospitals. Speaking to Citi News, the National President of the Society Dr Odoi Agyarko said the practitioners had lost trust in the NHIA because it had failed to fulfil its promise of settling its debt. “There is a particular facility that told us that them over 300,000 ghana cedis and they paid them only 16,000.Some were promised that they will receive a cheque but as of yesterday, they had not received the cheques. “We have not...

One hundred and ninety-nine newly qualified medical doctors were yesterday inducted into the Medical and Dental Council (MDC) at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Accra. The doctors, who were trained both locally and abroad, were inducted after satisfying all the requirements of the council. They swore both the Hippocratic Oath and recited the National Pledge to commit themselves to put their patients and the nation first and perform their duties diligently. Among other things, they pledged to not let religion, nationality, race, party politics or social standing interfere in their duty in providing care for their patients. They also pledged to practise the profession with conscience and dignity and also respect the secrets which were confided in them, even after the death of their patients. Continuous learning Addressing the newly inducted doctors, the Chairman of the MDC, Dr Eric Asamoah, urged them to continue to acquire knowledge, since their training did not end with t...

Mama looked grey. And Mama was a reflection of her. Where she was from, families were their own mirrors. They mirrored everything but emotions. And only the members could distinguish their genders or ages. They were that close-knit, yet overly distinct. Big Boss beat the drums, and it was time to fall. Uncle Sparks had to flash the light, and then falling would really begin. Celine didn't mind falling from time to time. But it was falling season, and falling would be regular for about two months straight. She would be better off getting used to it. There was no circumventing any of it. Below, the humans scrambled about, trying to get prepared for her and her folks. Darn, she dreaded it as much as they. Of course they couldn't tell. They were human, she was cloud. All around, her people began to get ready; trimming their hair and etc to get lighter. Anything to delay the fall. Useless. Especially the unfortunate ones with their homes on lower spheres. They always fell ...

When Dr. Appoh walked into the hospital cafetaria and saw the man in the corner with a sad face playing with his cup of what seemed to be coffee, he felt the sudden urge to preach. He hadn't felt that urge since Senior High School, when he had joined one of those Christian groups. <em>Maybe it's a Sunday morning that's why,</em> Dr Appoh thought. But he didn't ignore the feeling. In fact, as he ordered his light breakfast, he decided he was going to act on it. The man obviously needed motivation of some sort, and Dr Appoh felt he could deliver on that end. "Can I sit here?" he asked the man, while holding his tray. "Feel free," the man replied, not even bothering to look up. Dr. Appoh made himself comfortable. After a bite or two of his sandwich, he felt it was time to make his reason for sitting there announced. And so he spoke again, "Excuse me sir, I just want a minute of your time. Do you believe in miracles?" T...

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Realizing that all i have is really not mine Noticing instead that all is Thine Fills my heart with a kind of humility That makes me appreciate my simplicity Thought it's not the normal trend I understand that I Am Second. Seeing that others are better than me Even when i;m the best i can be Makes me treat my talents with a little contempt Because my achievements seem a tad bit unkempt And when my ego, I can no inspiration lend I accept that I Am Second.

"Amoafoa how many times have I told you not to put so much salt in the stew? Why do you want to kill someone in this house? Why can't you do something right for once? Jesus!" I snarled at my wife, banging the table with one hand and pushing the food away with the other. Somewhere in my conscience it registered that she didn't deserve what I said. But then what was said was said, and I wasn't about to apologise. Not me. Ever the graceful woman, Amoafoa got up quietly and left the table without a word. I restrained the urge to call out another insult at her. I wanted her to yell at me. I wanted a fight. But all I got was our eight year old Akua bursting into tears at the table. "Ah crap, what's it now? Why are you crying? Is it something I said?" I asked her, trying to be gently, but she only cried louder. "Daddy didn't mean that Akua, stop crying." When that didn't work either, I tried a sterner "Stop crying young lady, you...

The day is beautiful. I have wasted enough opportunities in my life, and I am not going to miss this one. I grab my journal and favourite black pen, and make my way out of the house. I try to be as careful as possible with the door; it creaks, and mother mustn't hear me sneak out. Or I will spend the entire day engaged in a melange of chores, and that would just ruin a potentially-perfect day. I don't want that. I succeed. To celebrate my victory, I stick my nose in the air and indulge my nostrils in the wonderful every-day-summer-because-it's-the-tropics scents. The swing chair invites me over for a pat on the back. My joy is short-lived though, because I must get down to business. The not-so-pleasant business. I suck in a deep long breath because who doesn't need strength to pursue difficulty? My mind sets the ball rolling, and I travel along with her down memory lane. The soles of my shoes are light, and so I can feel everything on the road. The pictures are i...

I have two sons, and they take the meaning of sibling rivalry to a whole different level. Theodore is older than Desmond by two years, and they basically hate each other. Whatever Theodore does, Desmond makes sure he does it better, and makes Theodore know it. Now I've watched Theodore and Desmond grow up despising each other, and being petty to themselves, and I've been powerless to do anything about it. My wife, who is dead and gone now, was very spiritual and blamed it on bad spirits. But I know the real cause. My father told me about it, passing down exactly what he was told by his father. "It's a curse," he'd said to me on his death-bed, right after he'd made me swore to never cut ties with my own brother, Peter. And now, I shall pass this advice, and task, to Theodore, the eldest. Not any of this curse nonsense. A reasoning person would know that there were no such things. So I'll have to find a way to tell him to do this, without once referring...

She came to the hospital a broken-spirited girl; the tumor in her brain near its expiry date. She spoke to no one, not even the doctors that tried to help her. Everyone said she had given up. But not me. I was the first one she spoke to, they say. Strange though, that the first person she'd spoken to was a hospital janitor who worked in Intensive Care Unit, well past his retirement age. I remember the night clearly. I was mopping the floor of her room late in the night when I heard her shift in bed. The poor thing; she was the most beautiful helpless girl I had ever seen. She was looking at me mop the floor. Her eyes, they haunt me as at now. In them was desolation. But that desolation seemed to be countered by the vestiges of cheerfulness and energy. She had been a very happy person before all this, it looked like. I grunted in her direction, as a way of apologizing for waking her up. Dragging the mop trolley, I attempted making my exit. I didn't want to be in...