By Priscilla Oye Ofori/Sandra Lartey
Accra, Oct. 29, GNA— The Traditional Medicine Practice Council (TMPC) has launched a digital infrastructure for easy registration and expedited licensing for its members.
The digital infrastructure which consists of a website, online portal and a new payment system will allow practising and prospective practitioners to register and obtain licenses using mobile phones or computers without visiting the offices of the Council.
Dr Michael Kyerematen, Registrar and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), TMPC, said the initiative would revamp the sector and curb the delay of issuance of licenses and certificates of practitioners, and premises, among others.
“This innovation will bring about easy accessibility. Issuance of the license is now going to be in an expedited process, it is not going to delay for three, four and five months as it has been the norm over the years,” he stated.
Dr Kyerematen said the digital system would also help to deepen the regulation of TMPC’s services to ensure that all requirements that qualified a practitioner were met.
He said professionals such as operators of homeopathic clinics, chiropractors, bone setters, herbalists, psychics and traditional birth attendants were regulated under the Traditional Medicine Act 2000 (575).
The Act regulates traditional medicine practices, registers practitioners and licenses practices, regulates the preparation and sale of herbal medicines and provides for related matters.
Ms Adelaide Ntim, Deputy Minister of Health, in a speech read on her behalf, said the current digitalisation drive in the country had positively impacted financial inclusion, access to public service, health outcomes, food security, education and other sectors.
She said most public sector institutions were seeking to transform their processes through the adoption of information systems.
The Deputy Minister noted that over the years, many challenges, including issues relating to norms, culture and regulations hindered the deployment of the information systems in most public sector organisations.
Hence, the Ministry, she said, had over the years deployed policies and strategies that would support the deployment of technology in the sector.
Ms Ntim said it had also launched many digital platforms to deal with the bureaucracy in the public sector and reduce to the nearest minimum human interactions during service delivery.
“Several training programmes on adoption and use of information systems have also been organised for staff working in the sector,” the Deputy Minister said.
She said such programmes were to equip staff under the Ministry to leverage information systems to transform the existing bureaucratic system in the sector.
Mr Daniel Nsiah, Deputy Financial Controller, Ministry of Health, called on the staff and stakeholders to support the initiative for it to be effective.
He advised them to utilise the money judiciously for its intended purpose.
Mr Nsiah assured the Council of his support through his Quality Assurance service.
Mr Sita Suleman, Head of Information Technology, TPMC, said the Council was piloting the initiative.
“Previously we did manual entry, but we are transferring the manual forms into digital. We were able to capture 1,405 health practitioners and 1,203 premises, and the ones vetted are 500. It means that we have 500 members in good standing,” he said.
The Department of Traditional and Alternative Medicine was created in the Ministry of Health in 1992.
The Traditional Medicine Practice Act (Act 575) was promulgated in 2000 to control and regulate Traditional medicine practice.
Although it was not constituted, its Secretariat was set up in 2004 to adequately prepare the ground for the Council.
It was eventually constituted and inaugurated on 9th April 2010 to set the stage for the legal promotion, education, development, regulation and control of Traditional and Alternative Medical Practice in Ghana.
GNA