A pharmacist is a professional whose job is to dispense prescription of drugs in a hospital or a retail pharmacy. On the other hand, a medical doctor (trained in human medicine), also referred to as a physician, is a medical practitioner who treats people with the use of medication. He is licensed to treat and heal the sick. The right thing to do from the above analogy if one feels unwell is to see a physician or a medical doctor who examines a patient after which recommendations are made about the correct medications to be used. It is the job of a pharmacist to now receive the recommendations and act on them by giving the necessary medications to treat the sickness. With the increase of ‘chemists’ here and there, it is necessary that there is a check on how these people make recommendations of medications to people so as to avoid flops and mistakes. The health of humans is not something to be toyed with as any little mistake could result in death. A typical Nigerian does not see taking two paracetamol tablets in a jiffy when he or she has a bout of headache as an issue. You can actually say that it is the most abused drug around here. Almost every home in Nigeria has a sachet or two of paracetamol or a pack of another brand of analgesic on the shelf. Tell people to see a physician and they will laugh at you because to them, ‘It’s just a headache’.
There is nothing wrong in administering first aid but incessant use without prescription could be injurious to health. Unfortunately, medically, headaches could be caused by a lot of factors like lack of sleep (insomnia); migraine and even an unbalanced diet might even be a pointer to high blood pressure or some other hidden illnesses. The average Nigerian fails to understand that only a medical doctor can ascertain the precise cause of something as small as a headache after examining and probably carrying out tests if need be on the patient. No, headache is ‘just a headache.’ It is also not out of place to see people go to pharmacies to request for medications for various ailments such as coughs, stomach ache and the like without any prescription from their doctors. In fact, most pharmacists in pharmaceutical stores now do give prescriptions. People do not really seem to know the difference between a medical doctor and a pharmacist as long as both are wearing a lab coat! There are also people who learnt how to sell drugs and provisions locally (you have a lot of them around who people refer to as ‘chemists’) prescribing medications for people. Some of them also apply injections on the sick and even go as far as setting drips! These are people who are not really thoroughly trained but still go ahead to do the job. How does a pharmacist or these ‘chemists’ who just prescribe medications without proper tests know which composition a patient should avoid? People have allergies. A doctor puts all these into consideration when making drug prescriptions. How can a patient who is allergic to sulphur be known without conducting tests? It is obvious that any little mistake in giving a drug with sulphonamide to such a patient could result to death! It is not as if Nigerians have medical cards which they carry around as in the developed countries. Some still don’t know their genotypes or blood groups! The majority of the people involved in dishing out medications that aren’t prescribed see it as a job to keep body and soul together. It’s seen as a mere means of survival when in actual fact it could make or mar the life of a person. Any profession that has to do with saving of lives is more than just a way of living. This is why those in the medical line do not spend anything less than seven years to study, practise and perfect the art before their induction into the system, and before they can practice. They are made to sit many professional exams to better themselves and to have vast knowledge of the profession. These are the reasons why those who belittle these efforts should not be allowed to thrive.
There should be awareness about the dangers of using drugs that are not prescribed by a physician by NAFDAC. This could be in form of a regular broadcast on national televisions and radio stations. Jingles can also be circulated among various media to make the awareness sink. There is a need to begin arresting people who are not authorised to sell drugs and give drug prescriptions but are doing so. The lackadaisical attitude of this agency in this regard is wreaking havoc, many of which go unrecorded as not all those who are victims can come out to talk about the effects of using drugs that they just got over the counter without proper recommendation from the right sources. If the government wants to allow those ‘chemists’ do the job of certified pharmacists, there should be the introduction of a school where they can be trained properly to carry the task out. There is no gainsaying that the population of Nigeri is increasing everyday while trained medical personnel decrease daily. If there must be additions, then they should be helped to do it right. They can go to these special schools for a certain number of years and be issued certificates to that effect. Pharmacists and medical doctors can help school them in this regard.
Many of these roadside hawkers who give out drug prescriptions run away at the mention of NAFDAC out on inspection, only to resume business later. There should be strict rules and the government needs to decide if it wants them around or not. The possibility of selling expired drugs is also very high as not all these people have the orientation of checking the drugs they are stocking. Those who hawk drugs, especially inside markets and motor parks, should be stopped as the number has been on the rise recently. It is out of place and an aberration for drugs to be put inside bowls and be hawked like oranges and pepper.
- Ishola is on the staff of Nigerian Tribune
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