Hospital pharmacists charged on national development

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PSN President, Ahmed I. Yakasai

*AHAPN seeks substantive DG for NAFDAC, reconstitution of board of federal healthcare institutions

Stakeholders in pharmaceutical system have called on pharmacists to maintain their focus, capacity building and peer review of activities, as well as leadership and professional commitments in various practice settings in pharmacy.

The pharmacists made this call at the Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists of Nigeria (AHAPN) 19th Annual National Conference in Lagos titled ‘Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists and National Development.’ National Chairman of the Association, Martins Oyewole, said the conference was about making huge contributions towards ensuring quality healthcare delivery and wellness for Nigerians.

Oyewole disclosed that medicine is an agent of wellness therefore drug open markets should be avoided in every part of the country. “Medicine should be taken under control to avoid fake and counterfeit drugs in the market. We want to build an organization that will be robust to support Nigeria health system. We want to partner with various agencies of government to ensure that people use drugs in a rational way.”

Oyewole stated that quality medicines should not meant only for those dwelling in urban areas but for every Nigerians irrespective of where they live. He said: “We have been advocating that people should avoid self medications rather patients should seek attention of healthcare provider because healthcare providers are in the best position to prescribe medicines.

“It is not every health condition that needs medicine for instance, there is water therapy, self control, lifestyle moderation and taking time to relax because average Nigerians do not relax, so by the time they seek attention of healthcare providers, patients can be able to know more about their health status.” Oyewole said role of government in improving pharmaceutical system is huge adding that policy makers do not put appropriate policies in place to strengthen pharmaceutical system.

“All the board of federal healthcare institutions and parastatals that were dissolved immediately this government came into power should be reconstituted, we want substantive Director General (DG), for National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). Things have turn down over the years just because there is no rule,” he said.

President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Ahmed Yakasai, said hospital pharmacy practice is one of the most visible aspect of pharmacy and has been a yardstick by which the public rates the profession with respect to healthcare delivery and impact on patient care.

Yakasai said: “It is clear that hospital pharmacy services have come a long way in the past couple of years. The practice has evolved and is still evolving into more patient oriented practices with most hospitals having several decentralized units that can better meet the needs of their patients and the implementation of ward pharmacy services whereby pharmacists routinely visit wards to monitor and clarify prescriptions as well as identify or prevent drug therapy problems.”

Keynote speaker at the event and Dean Rova College, Emmanuel Abolo, said pharmacy with its heritage of 50 centuries of service to mankind has come to be recognised as one of the greatest professions which have applied its knowledge for benefits of others. Abolo noted the overarching goal for healthcare providers as well as stakeholders must be to continue improving value for patients. He said failure to meet the triple aim of the healthcare profession, increasing quality of care, reducing cost of care and making services accessible means failure of the profession.

Abolo said: “Healthcare is entering a period of explosive transformation, the transition from empirical to precision medicine will be the centre for value models in hospitals and administrative pharmacy. The hospital pharmacist is at the centre of value creation in the profession of pharmacy. When a hospital pharmacist fills out a prescription written by a medical doctor, he provides a professional service incorporating the benefits of the work of pharmacist in all branches of the profession, education, research and development, standards, productions, distributions and pharmaceutical care,” he said.