PSN President Assures Of Safe, Effective Medicines To Nigerians

Some dignitaries during a courtesy visit of the Conference Planning Committee of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) to Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai of Kaduna State, recently.


Pharm (Mazi) Sam Ohuabunwa , President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), has pledged that the society would continue to encourage pharmacists through capacity building and professional development to provide safe and effective medicines to Nigerians.

Ohuabunwa made the pledge in a press statement to mark this year’s World Pharmacists Day said, “We have strived to do that in the past, sacrificially doing it today and will willingly do it tomorrow.”

The World Pharmacists’ Day is marked on September 25, all over the world, to appreciate the immeasurable role played by Pharmacists in the health care delivery system of every nation. The 2019 World Pharmacists’ Day will promote “safe and effective medicines for all.”

According to the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) the theme aims to highlight the key role that Pharmacists play in assuring patients’ safety through improved medicines use and reduced medication errors. Medication error is an adverse drug event that occurs when exposure to a medication results in harm.

Ohuabunwa explained that five rights must be followed before a medication safety could be assured. They are the right dose of the right medication, administered to the right patient at the right time and by the right route.

“As simple as this may appear, it is personalised for each patient since they are modified by demography, health condition, physiological status and possible allergies.

He added that hharmacists affect patients’ safety in ensuring access to medication; supplying medication information; evaluating medication appropriateness and improving medication adherence.

Others are providing health and wellness services, medication management and assessing health status of patients.

“Pharmacists have continued to perform their traditional role of drug production and dispensing, but the paradigm shift towards a more patient-oriented practice has necessitated the adoption and embrace of Pharmaceutical care by all settings of the pharmacy practice, from drug formulation to production, analysis, distribution and dispensing.

“Pharmacists must be intricately involved in all of these for the integrity of the system to be guaranteed. Pharmacists use their specialised skills to affect the health outcome of patients. Effective medicines will be able to produce the intended or expected outcome when responsibly provided. To ensure safe and effective medicines for all Nigerians, there is need to pay attention to a number of areas.

Pharmaceutical care

It must be promoted wholly by the health policy makers, applied by all pharmacists and embraced by all stake holders.

Control

Ethical and psychotropic drugs must be taken away from our streets, thus the need to pass the pharmacy bill into law.

Regulation of pharmacy practice

The regulation of medicines must be total as drugs are potential poisons and need to be handled with adequate knowledge.

Education/training

Health is dynamic and pharmacists need training and retraining to retool for emerging and reemerging health problems.

Infrastructure

Improvement in transportation and electricity will have a big effect on the delivery of safe and effective medicines to Nigerians through timely delivery of pharmaceutical products and adequate storage temperature, especially for cold chain products, like vaccines and other heat sensitive products.

Reward/remuneration

Ohuabunwa, however, lamented that pharmacists in Nigeria were not adequately remunerated given the tasking and sensitive role they play in healthcare delivery.

“Recently the migration of pharmacists to countries with better opportunities for professional development and reward is worrisome,” he said.

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