The change I wanna be

Health care service delivery is more unlikely to happen in the absence of the public, the main consumer of health care services. However, the public seems to be unaware of the health care teams which work in collaboration to provide health care services. For example, in Malawi, there is a confusion in the professional identities of the health care providers like doctors, Nurses, Health surveillance assistance, medical assistants, Clinical officers and other allied health care providers existing in the health system. These have left a loophole for bogus providers who, having no medical education pose as doctors or any other health care provider and offer services to unsuspecting citizens demanding fees on otherwise free medical services. Not only does this violate the citizens financial position, it also threatens their right to be treated by a trained certified health care provider.

The citizens lack of knowledge on different cadres of the health team, their education and knowledge expertise also affects their collaboration in health care plans, programs and projects, violates their right to privacy as they are more bound to tell their confidential issues to some member of the team who is not entitled to such information. The citizens also fail to create and sustain a working relationship with their provider as they remain obscured about the identity, scope of practice and limitation of their provider limiting their participation in health care initiatives and total improvement in health care service delivery.

Bringing an initiative that will help the citizen identify health care providers, their expertise, their limitations and their scope of practice is essential in improving the health care service delivery of Malawi and the health care outcomes for Malawian citizens. This knowledge alone will empower the citizens to voice out their concerns, to collaborate in their own health care, to identify and initiate interventions that can help them. It will also help the to reduce incidents of bogus medical practitioners and uphold medical ethical standards of confidentiality and privacy as citizens will give their confidential information to deserving medical providers.