Lagos – The Association of Hospital Pharmacists of Nigeria (AHAPN), Lagos State chapter, on Wednesday urged its members to engage in continuous education for a more effective and efficient healthcare delivery.
Mr Kayode Aiyegbajeje, chairman of the association, made the call at the 2015 Lagos State Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN)’s Week in Lagos.
Theme of the conference is: “The Roles of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists in Achieving Optimal Health Outcomes’’.
Aiyegbajeje said, “The health sector still needs to be strengthened.
“There should be emphasis for all healthcare workers in Nigeria to work in synergy; this is one of the major challenges.
“Pharmacists should strive to remain relevant and this involves continuous update to be abreast of the current trends in the medical and health world.
“We should broaden our horizon, read wide and give excellent services, so as to build confidence and trust in our patients and remain relevant in the sector.’’
Also, Mrs Margaret Obono, the Director of Pharmacy, National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, said there were key challenges that should be addressed for optimal hospital pharmacy practice.
She said, “Hospital pharmacy practice requires that you provide pharmaceutical care to achieve definite outcomes aimed at improving quality patients’ lives in collaboration with other healthcare workers.
“The challenge is that the relationship with other members of this team is often not too cordial, there is poor communication and rivalry, this can be inhibiting.’’
Obono said that the challenges include lack of automation of inventory management of drugs, electronic data processing and inadequate provision of information to patients and healthcare team.
According to her, other challenges were non-availability of modern equipment and facilities, irregular power supply for proper storage of drugs, patient-centred pharmacy practice and dispensing and patient counselling.
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She said, “ Studies have confirmed that pharmacists involvement in patient care can improve patient counselling.
“There is also need to minimise dispensing error by advising the patient on how to use drugs.
“Chaotic drug distribution system and fake drugs challenges make it difficult for pharmacists to take responsibility for provision of drugs as well as access to patients medical and medication history.’’
In her remarks, Mrs Bisi Bright, the first Vice-chairman of LiveWell Initiative, said that clinical pharmacists were the most under-utilised members of the healthcare team.
She stressed the need for role expansion of pharmacists in order to be a key player in the modern healthcare delivery.
“The healthcare challenges are demands of access, safety, quality and cost.
“Successful healthcare delivery models have become a necessity and role expansion should be a must for all pharmacists.
“Once a diagnosis is made, up to 80 per cent of patient care services involve pharmacologic interventions,’’ she said. (NAN
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