Dr. Eli Kwesi AtikpuiM
The Medical & Dental Council (MDC) has announced the issuance of a unique stamp for medical practitioners licensed by the council, beginning June 2019.
The self-imprint stamp to be designed, produced and distributed by the council, will have features, including security code, name of the practitioner, his or her designation, MDC registration number and facility name.
The introduction of the stamp is to help enforce professional standards and link a practitioner to every medical record he or she generates in the course of his or her practice, as well as facilitate clinical audit and weed out any qualified and fake practitioners in the system.
Currently, Ghana has over 7,000 doctors and 3,500 physician assistants registered with the council but resources available to the council to track their practice at all levels are becoming a challenge.
“What we have noted over the period is that practitioners are providing services, they are giving out information, signing document, writing prescription and we cannot trace the documents to specific facilities,” Dr. Eli Kwesi Atikpui, registrar of MDC, said.
He was speaking at a National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) stakeholder engagement with service providers in Accra to discuss issues that would make the country’s insurance policy efficient and sustainable.
Dr. Atikpui added that the stamp would be used for the all prescription, impatient and out-patient documents, all official medical and legal documents, all referral noted and discharge summary and lab request forms.
“I would wish that we take note that requests that are not signed and the stamps affixed are really not conceded,” he mentioned.
Dr. Atikpui said the council will be responsible to keep a register and also cater for replacing all lost, defaced and damaged stamps. It would also be the duty of the practitioners to keep the stamp safe and prevent unauthorized access to it.
For health facilities, he explained that they would request for the stamps from the council and distribute them, ensure the proper usage of the stamps, report in writing to the MDC the loss of a stamp within 48 hours for replacement, and also ensure that the stamp is returned to the MDC in case of suspension of the user from office, the practitioner leaving the facility or upon the death of a practitioner.
“The practitioner should report the loss of stamp to management of facility within 24 hours of the loss, use the stamp appropriately, and be responsible and accountable for its use. If there is a transfer of stamps, used for purposes other than specified the practitioner will be called to the penal cases committee and the stamp immediately withdrawn,” he added.
The MDC registrar further explained that should a facility misuse a stamp, the clinical head will be referred to the penal cases committee and later refer the facility to the police as it will be a criminal offence and “we will expect the police to do due diligence.”
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri