Expert Tasks Clinical Pharmacists on Value Proposition in Nation’s Healthcare
The former President of the Nigerian Association of Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Scientists in the Americas (NAPPSA), Dr Anthony Ikeme, has urged clinical pharmacists in Nigeria to develop relevant and game-changing value propositions to transform the country’s healthcare.
Ikeme, who is also the co-founder and Managing Partner of Pharmamedics Inc., USA, said this move is to help them show leadership in the healthcare sector.
He gave this charge in an interview after delivering the plenary address at the first annual scientific conference of the Clinical Pharmacists Association of Nigeria (CPAN) in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state.
Ikeme highlighted the need for a paradigm shift in the industry where too many stakeholders jostle for positions instead of seeking ways to improve their professions for real impact.
He stated that the critical question healthcare professionals must answer is essentially the value each stakeholder group brings and not about hierarchy.
“It is not just your hierarchical position; it is your value proposition. What value do you bring to the table?
“Can you measure or quantify your value to the team and the patients? Is your indispensability in the healthcare team clear and demonstrable?” Ikeme questioned.
The former president explained that focus on such value propositions is necessary for improvements in the healthcare sector.
According to the managing partner, this move will help shine the light on the critical role of the clinical pharmacist in a nation’s healthcare delivery.
“Clinical pharmacists are not only the healthcare team’s medication experts but also the champion for patients’ education and overall wellbeing,” he noted.
Ikeme, who also founded Clintriad, a company invested in clinical trials in Africa, said he knows the obstacles to advancing healthcare in Nigeria.
He listed poor leadership and management, often reflected in poor and incoherent healthcare policies and the shortage of healthcare professionals.
Others are inadequate budgetary allocation to the sector, which has led to poor infrastructure, the twin issues of accessibility and affordability, and the largely uninformed consumers of healthcare services.
Ikeme, however, urged pharmacists to “take ownership of your turf and be adept at accessing, mobilising, and applying knowledge to optimise medication therapy and promote health, wellness, and disease prevention.”
He highlighted areas where pharmacists could provide value and leadership, including knowledge, quality and system improvement, process, and research and innovation.
And this, he said, can be achieved if CPAN provides professional improvement support through “access to cutting-edge journals, best practice training and dissemination of learnings.
He added that this support could be from its conferences, strategic partnerships with diasporan counterparts such as NAPPSA, collaborations with other like-minded professionals, and push for the addition of leadership in the pharmacy degree curriculum.
