An Analysis of Drug Distribution and Medication Errors to Improve Pharmaceutical Services in Nigeria.

Abstract

The problem of medication errors represents risks in public health with negative consequences on patient’s wellbeing. Globally, healthcare sectors face more challenges addressing the incidents of medication errors due to underlining factors such as severe funding shortfalls, low patient-physician ratio, inadequate infrastructure and low technological inputs amongst others. Given the foregoing, this study employed a qualitative research design aided with a key informant interview of seven public healthcare experts to examine the drug distribution and administration system of Nigeria's public healthcare setting. The primary data derived from public health experts with both theoretical and practical knowledge of Nigeria's public hospital settings were examined against the secondary data derived from the review of extant literature. The outcomes suggest that systemic problems such as the weak political will of the government to effectively fund its healthcare sector, low workers engagement, weak supervision, anemic enforcement, non-adherence to standard procedures, shortage of healthcare professionals (HCP), low patient awareness, poor organizational culture amongst others represent factors precipitating medication errors. To reverse these significant problems, the study made recommendations comprising the reimagining of the boards and the personnel administration of the hospitals to include individuals from the organized private sector, to enhance best practices and modern HRM practices. Others include the government should boost public funding for the sector, incentivize skilled and experienced HCPs to exercise better supervision, deploy automation to digitally safeguard the system, incentivize medical and nursing education to sustain recruitment pipeline, mandate periodic training for HCP, and the introduction of a mandatory patient awareness booklet to boost public awareness of what constitutes medication errors, the introduction of a mandatory clinical audit review of public hospitals to be conducted by a third party from the private sector, and reorganizing the governance boards of government administered to include non-bureaucrats and seasoned professionals. These are needed to greatly reduce the incident of medication errors in Nigeria's hospital settings.