‘Pharmacists decry rising number of patent medicine vendors’

United States based pharmacist, Dr. Christian Ike, has posited that it is difficult for pharmacists in standard practice especially at initial startup to break even in the midst of ubiquitous Patent Medicine Vendors (PMV).

Ike said that under this scenario, pharmacists should be consistent with high standard and establish trust that would gradually lure the patients from the PMV towards seeing the need to get well with the right medication and thus start patronizing the pharmacies despite the apparent higher cost than the PMV.

Ike in the paper he presented at the 90th annual Conference of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) at Umuahia, Abia State capital on the topic “Best Practices In Community Pharmacy; Know it, Do it ” urged pharmaists to try to carve a niche, get a percentage of the population that is loyal and see their business will start booming.

He urged that from time to time, regulators should be brought to perform oversight functions on the PMV but that due to paucity of funds, a group of pharmacies could sponsor regulatory agents on targeted PMV inspection.

Ike said pharmacies in collaboration with PSN, Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) and state governments could fight for pilot programme to establish PMV free cities/zones.

His words: ” Pharmacy practice has changed and will continue to change. This evolution has been fueled by advances in clinical practice and innovations in technology, enabling pharmacists to play an increasingly powerful role in patient care”.

The pharmacist said an important prerequisite for continued development and success of the profession is the establishment and maintenance of a high standard of excellence in individual practice listing seven essential elements for adoption.

The seven he listed are: development of a leadership philosophy that focuses on others, effective management of oneself and others, embracing of change and supporting of progress, promotion of professional image, continuous development of skills and knowledge, disciplined professional practice and effective communication.

To him, if adopted, they will aid the profession in achieving desired distinction “pharmacy practice should be done in disciplined manner with the practitioners being able to communicate effectively with the bottom line being that that every pharmacy practitioner ought to have a responsibility to contribute to the continued evolution of the profession”.

Ike said said one means of fulfilling that responsibility is to pursue individual practice excellence, which in aggregate supports that evolution and advancement “.