Patients who visit hospitals accredited by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) may not get medicines to treat their ailments from today.

This is because pharmaceutical distributors will from Monday, February 10, 2014 suspend supply of medicines to the hospitals across the country.

Last week the Ghana Chamber of Pharmacy warned its members will suspend further drug supplies to health service providers under the NHIS following failure of service providers to reimburse distributors for medicines supplied.

The chamber said the delay in reimburing the distributers is impacting negatively on its financial strength and survival.

Head of Research and Advocacy at the Chamber of Pharmacy Stanley Adjei told Joy News it could take up to two weeks to restore full supplies even if the money is paid today.

He said the situation "has gotten to the stage where the suppliers' ability to supply [medicines] is very limited. Now most of these suppliers have run of stock".

The distributors claim the harsh economic realities and the fast depreciation of the local currency have made matters worse for them.

Pharmaceutical distributors suspend supply of medicines to hospitals 

When the pharmaceutical distributors announced last week their intention suspend their service, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) dismissed claims it has  failed to pay for drugs supplied to hospitals under the NHIS.

The NHIA however admited it has still some arrears to pay.

The Deputy Director of Corporate Affairs at the NHIA, Nii Annang Adjetey, told Myjoyonline.com, that contrary to the claims by members of the Ghana Pharmacy Chamber, arrears from May- July last year have already been paid.