Ghana Health Service’s Director General reminds public against abuse of medications

Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare, the Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has suggested the public against the misapplication and abuse of medications as it could be harmful to their health.

He said that utilizing medicines when they were not required, over-applying those or limiting their use resulted in delayed care, disease progression, increased mortality and antimicrobial resistance, as reported by Graphic Online.

“Unsafe medication practices and medication error are leading causes of injury and avoidable harm in healthcare systems across the world. And the annual cost associated with medication error is estimated at $42 billion globally,” Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare said.

During his exclusive conversation on preparations toward the celebration of Patient Solidarity Day, he emphasized saying ‘safe medication and health of all.’ His intention was to create more awareness among the people of Ghana to ensure patients can access safe, quality and right treatments as warranted by their conditions.

“Unsafe medicines represent various threats to patients. They may contain insufficient amount or not active ingredients or dangerous ingredients, leading to drug resistance, treatment failure and even death,” Dr. Nsiah-Asare opined.