The Various Roles Pharmacist Play In Their Sectors In Nigeria

Roles of pharmacists

Pharmacy is a phrase that means ‘knowledge and procedure of manufacture as well as administration of drugs.’

The the traditional role of pharmacy includes compounding and distribution of medication. In recent years, up to date services like clinical services, reviewing medications for safety and efficacy and providing drug information have been at the forefront of the profession. Pharmacy is the most financially rewarding career as it combines health care, computer technology, and business, mathematics and counselling.

For a pharmacist to have a direct patient relationship, he must be good in clinical practice. Clinical pharmacy takes into account all the actions executed by a clinical pharmacist who practices within hospitals, nursing homes, community pharmacy, home-based care services, private clinics and wherever any other settings medicines are recommended and utilised.

The use of the word ‘clinical’ means patient-oriented or health of patient involve. This means that hospital and community pharmacy are able to carry it out together. It involves the scrutiny, perceive and avoid injuries, medicines dealings, unfavourable results and drug mistakes in the cause of appraisal of the prescription profile.

The pharmacist is a great career of choice, hence, experts in drug therapy and primary health care optimized medication for the benefits of patients. Patients can talk to one, face to face without an appointment. They counsel on health related topics like blood, drink, lifestyle, and drug.

Apart from these, there is specific roles pharmacist play at different careers in a community. Let us discuss them.

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Community Pharmacist

They are your pharmacy store close to your home. They are easily accessible to the public, supply medicines according to prescription and sell with their own prescription when legal. They counsel both on how toutilisee a drug for maximum benefits or on general lifestyle modification. Organised lectures for patients, other health care professional, and the public on drugs. They act as intermediary between patients and health care professionals in most cases. They dabble a little into modern technology such as home test kits for minor illness with instructions on proper usage and sales. Their main activities are highlighted below.

• Processing Prescription: Prescription are received and their legality, safety, and appropriateness is verified. Medical records can be examined before prescribing and dispensing when available. They can also provide advice to the prescriber.
• Care Of Patients: Appropriate counselling is rendered as part of their legal duty. The information include indications, precautions, side effects, adverse effects, contraindication etc.
•  Monitoring: After dispensing, the pharmacist can do follow up by doing research to see if the regimen is being followed and adhered to. The positive feedback is taken as well as the negative one is analysed. An example of when this type of care is common is in cases of high or low blood pressure treatment and weight loss therapy.
• Traditional And Alternative Medicine: Pharmacist supply traditional herbal medicines, as product as far as it is not against National Agency For Food And Drug Administration And Control (N.A.F.D.A.C) rules. They distribute it as well as sell with a prescription.
• Responding To Treatment And Minor Ailments: They handle minor illnesses including the use of over the counter therapy. They help to diagnose serious cases from minor while giving advice on signs and symptoms. Advise to patients to desist from a particular therapy and consult a doctor if symptoms persist for more than two days. They recommends non-drug approach sometimes when it is the best thing to do.
• Informing Health Care Professional And The Public: They provide the rational use of drugs by compiling and maintaining information of both old and most especially new medications. This kind of information can be shared between other health care professionals and the public.'
• Health Promotion: They take active part in health related campaign both local and international of drugs and its related topics. They also take part in educational work like the importance of vaccinations and why to do it now.

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Hospital Pharmacy

A visit to the hospital is hardly complete without getting to this unit. Although the services they render is somewhat similar to that of community practice, here are some few differences.

•  They are more close to prescribers.
•  Have better access to patients’ medical record file. This makes patient cases monitoring easy.
• Gives one the privilege of interacting with other pharmacist within the hospital.
• Can have great direct impart on essential drug list, use within that particular hospital, and greatly influence the national list.
• One more thing, learning, as medical personnel know no bound as interacting with other health care providers will surely enhance treatment option for patients. Responsible for some clinical related research for a better understanding of the health benefits of the mode of operation of the health care program for the country. Information help in the shaping of the future of essential drug list.
• Planning of clinical trial.
• Education of both staffs and patients.

Government Agency

As more and more new drugs are design and developed, there ought to be a body who check the claimed efficacy of them for the safety of patients. They protect the public from harm. Since the production of these drug are carried out by a pharmacist, it is best to check mate them with a pharmacist. This way error are easily detected. In addition, government agency are responsible for the strict compliance on the ban of certain lethal raw or finished product. They are most of the time controlled by pharmacist as they are in a better position to detect a contraband product. As for the academia, they regulate pharmacy school. Who else will be in a better position than them to do that.
Examples are National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (N.D.L.E.A), NAFDAC, Pharmaceutical Council Of Nigeria (P.C.N) etc. They function in the preparation of essential drug list, regulate information source, design school curricula, supply, control, and regulate certain products to achieve even distribution of product within the country. To achieve most of the said objectives, there comes the use of enforcement in the form of force. They are in the administration sector, education, policy regulation, enforcement agency, professional regulatory bodies, international agency, and professional bodies.

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Industrial Pharmacy

• Research and development of new drugs with analysis.
•  Provide medical information of new drugs as well as modify old ones if need be about biological activity.
• Manufacture drug-using quality control.
•  Ensures good manufacturing practice through validation of various stages and testing before release.
•  Drug Information

They are the drug lord, as they know much more about the drugs than any other group of pharmacy. They therefore educate other pharmacy and health care workers within and outside the establishment on the mechanism of action of the drug. This information must be backed by post market survey, as clinical trials is not a final guaranteed.

• Application And Drug Registration

They are responsible for filing for patent right after discovery of a potential new drug entity. They are the ones responsible for clinical trials and surveillance in an industry

• Sales And Marketing

Who can market a product you took part in its development better? Non-than you, the industrial pharmacist. They target the right patient. They observe their competitors and adopt various means to drive sales using information at their disposal as their weapon.

• Management

They must approve each step of the production process as all blames goes to him in case of eventuality. They are usually working almost every day in a mechanical manner. Check calculations, quality assurance, batch productions etc.

Academia Pharmacy

They are the lecturers found in each pharmacy school. They are responsible for the research, training, and all of that. Their activities is rather interrelated to other parts of the industry.

Pharmacy is a profession that is ever growing, ever changing. This means that what is obtainable today may not tomorrow. That is why all pharmacist must be ready to adapt to new changes as time goes on.

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