Chioma Umeha
 |
| Some-participants at the sixth National Cerebral Palsy Family Forum which held University of Lagos Teaching Hospital LUTH Idiaraba in Lagos |
Worried by the impact of recurring disagreement
among healthcare practitioners on
the sector, Pharm. Ahmed Yakasai, President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria
(PSN) has said that collaboration among them is a must and not an option in
achieving quality care for patients.
Yakasai, who is also the Chairman/CEO, Pharmaplus
Nigeria Limited, made this assertion in a paper he presented at the 13th Annual
Scientific Conference and All Fellows Congress of National Postgraduate Medical
College of Nigeria, tagged, ASCAF Owerri 2018, weekend.
Defining synergy as an interaction or cooperation
of two or more organisations, substances, individuals or other agents to
produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects,
Yakasai stressed the need for such cooperation in ending the differences among
health sector professional.
The PSN boss explained that when healthcare
practitioners with different complementary skills cooperate, come together and
work together in the interest of the patients they always achieve better
results for the patients.
He maintained that the outcome achieved due to
synergy among the healthcare practitioners is far better than when each
healthcare practitioner works in isolation.
“Even drugs work better when they work
synergistically which one drug increases the other’s effectiveness. For
example, the effect on the same
cellular system by two different antibiotics like a penicillin damage the cell
wall of gram positive bacteria and improve the penetrations of amino
glycosides,” he stated.
Recall that the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA)
and the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU), a body of all other health workers,
had over the years embroiled in supremacy fight over a number of issues which
brought disharmony in the health care delivery system in the country.
Pharm. Yakasai, however, spoke of what he
described as silo mentality, saying that managing the ‘turf wars’ does not
require tearing down the silos.
“In fact, silos have important functions.
Training, practice, professional advancement and new knowledge skills occur in
centres and specialised environment of the silo. Silo walls should function
more as semi-permeable membrane than concrete walls so information and resources
can flow to foster overall system function. It is a matter of reframing what
constitutes the health system, the relationship between components, and the
overall paradigm of system purpose.
“Healthcare is a team effort period. Each
healthcare practitioner is like a member of the team with special role. Some
team members play key roles in diagnosis while others play important roles in
treatment and care for the patients. The healthcare team consists of the
doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, technicians and technologists,
therapists and rehabilitation specialists, physician assistants, community
health workers, administrative and support staff as well as people who provide
emotional, social and spiritual support for the patients,” he said.
Yakasai posited that synergy among healthcare
practitioners provides benefits for the patients as well as the healthcare providers.
He said that for the patients, it promotes
patient-centred care. “The
ultimate goal of the healthcare team is to provide patient with the best care
possible. The patient is the epicentre of the healthcare. Providing best care
for patient is easier to achieve when there is synergy among healthcare
practitioners. Instead of having each practitioner take turns caring for them,
patients have a team of experts on their side from the beginning; working
together to provide the best possible care that has lasting results.”
He said that synergy also enhances better
communication among healthcare practitioners as it closes the communication gap
and enhances inter-professional collaboration among the healthcare team.
“Healthcare providers are able to interact on a
personal level, share ideas about patient treatment, outcomes and challenges as
well as work together to maintain continuity in care. Rather than relying on
patient’s chart to review treatments and patient history which may not help
them to make informed decision. Synergism creates a free flow of information
among healthcare practitioners. This helps to avoid miscommunication about
patient’s needs and missed symptoms,” he said.
Other benefits of synergy, Yakasai said, are that
it enables comprehensive patient care in that it is easier to form a holistic
view of patient needs and care; creates better coordination of patient
treatment plans; minimises
readmission rates and empowers team members and promotes team mindset.
“Working as a team, healthcare practitioners
support each other, break down the silos of different disciplines and enhanc
each other’s mentality,” he said.
On how to achieve better synergy among healthcare
practitioners, the PSN president recommended inter-professional education.
He said medical, pharmaceutical and other
healthcare students should receive training on why, what and how to work
effectively as a team with other healthcare practitioners during early years in
healthcare institutions. This, he said, would prime them to collaborate with
other healthcare providers during their practice years.
“It is also important to create an environment
where medical, pharmaceutical and other healthcare students should be engaged
in learning with, from and about each other. Joint trainings, seminars, and
conferences among healthcare practitioners should be organised just as it is
being done in other climes (e.g. Nigerian Association of Pharmacists and
Pharmaceutical Scientists in the Americas (NAPPSA)/ Association of Nigerian
Physicians in the Americas (ANPA). Consider various options on how to give
healthcare practitioners the collaborative training they need to care for
patients as a team,” he stated.
Yakasai emphasised that healthcare practitioners
should understand that they are all working together for the same goal – the
ultimate wellbeing of the patient.
He said, “The bad news is for a very long time, we
have not fully collaborated to achieve desired results for the patients. The
question now is when are we going to realise that each of us needs all of us
and all of us need each of us to take the healthcare delivery of our nation to
great heights of achievements? I sincerely believe the time is NOW. We are the
generation of healthcare practitioners that must change the narrative.
“The good news is that it is not too late for us
as healthcare providers to join hands and work together to achieve better care
for our patients knowing pretty well that anyone can be the patient. Teamwork
in healthcare is vitally important to patient treatment, care and safety. Let
us foster communication and create a better work environment.”
