On this year’s World Patient Safety Day, SafeCare Country Director of PharmAccess, Bonifacia Benefo Agyei, emphasized the need for quality standards, outcome-based care, digital continuity, and facility financing to ensure safer care for patients with non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Speaking at an event organized by the Ghana Health Service in Accra, Agyei cited the example of a woman diagnosed with hypertension, who would live with the condition for decades, and highlighted the importance of cohesive care.
According to the World Health Organisation, one in ten patients is harmed while receiving care, with about half of that harm being preventable. NCDs, including hypertension, diabetes, cancers, and heart disease, account for 74% of deaths worldwide and over four in ten deaths in Ghana. Agyei stated that patient safety is not a single event, but rather the sum of every consultation, prescription, and hand-off, directly impacting patients like the woman with hypertension.
PharmAccess, through its SafeCare program, aims to work with the Ghana Health Service, the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG), and private providers to ensure quality care is owned and practiced by Ghanaian institutions and teams. The organization provides four distinct interventions to address points where NCD care breaks down, including supporting health institutions to assess their services against international standards and identify areas for improvement.
SafeCare has assessed thousands of facilities globally, with 74% demonstrating measurable quality improvement, and currently supports approximately 9.6 million patient visits a month. PharmAccess is also promoting value-based care, a model that pays providers for patient outcomes rather than procedures performed, and is evaluating this approach for hypertension and diabetes in Ghana.
The organization has developed a digital health platform, NkwaPlus, which allows patients to share health information with their care teams between consultations, enabling ongoing monitoring and earlier response to potential risks. Additionally, the Medical Credit Fund provides loans and technical assistance to healthcare providers to address improvement priorities, with over 2,100 providers supported and a 95% repayment rate.
Bonifacia Benefo Agyei listed four conditions necessary for patient safety and quality care: visible leadership, sustained investment, measurement that leads to change, and patients as partners. She emphasized that patient safety must be a standing item at every level, from the Ministry to the ward, and that commitment must be visible in budgets, staffing, and operational plans.
Agyei urged delegates to agree on specific actions to improve patient safety, with responsible leads, timelines, budgets, and measures of success. She proposed that by the next World Patient Safety Day commemoration, the sector should be able to report on funded actions, implemented changes, and improved patient safety outcomes.
Key points
- PharmAccess' four interventions aim to address points where NCD care breaks down.
- SafeCare has assessed thousands of facilities globally, with 74% demonstrating measurable quality improvement.
- The Medical Credit Fund has supported over 2,100 healthcare providers with loans and technical assistance.
