College Seeks Policy Reforms To Expand Consultancy Pharmacists’ Roles

The West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists (WAPCP), Nigeria Chapter, has called for comprehensive policy reforms to expand the clinical responsibilities of consultant pharmacists across Nigeria’s healthcare system, saying the move is critical to improving patient outcomes, reducing medication errors and lowering healthcare costs.

The call was made by the Director of Pharmaceutical Services, Osun State Hospitals Management Board, Dr. Moteehat Olu-Lawal, during her keynote presentation titled “Expanding Consultant Pharmacists’ Clinical Roles in Nigeria to Optimise Patient Care and Medication Safety” at the 8th Scientific Conference and Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the WAPCP, held at the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN) Auditorium, Yaba, Lagos.

Olu-Lawal argued that consultant pharmacists should no longer be viewed as professionals confined to dispensing medicines but as advanced clinical practitioners capable of leading medication therapy management, preventing medication-related harm, improving treatment outcomes and contributing significantly to healthcare policy and service delivery.

She noted that strengthening consultant pharmacy practice would not only improve the quality of patient care but also help Nigeria’s overstretched healthcare system save substantial costs associated with preventable medication errors, prolonged hospital admissions and avoidable complications.
According to her, evidence from international studies shows that more than 50 per cent of adverse drug events are preventable through pharmacist-led interventions, while preventable medication errors cost the global healthcare system an estimated 42 billion dollars annually.

She added that one in every 20 patients worldwide suffers harm from preventable medication-related incidents, making medication safety one of the most pressing healthcare priorities.

Speaking on Nigeria’s healthcare realities, Olu-Lawal observed that despite the country’s population exceeding 200 million people, the number of registered pharmacists remains inadequate, resulting in a pharmacist-to-population ratio far below the World Health Organisation’s recommended standard.

She described the expansion of consultant pharmacists’ clinical responsibilities as “a healthcare survival imperative” rather than a professional ambition.

The keynote speaker outlined the broad range of responsibilities consultant pharmacists are trained to perform, including direct patient care, medication therapy management, medication safety and reconciliation, prescribing and deprescribing, chronic disease management, pharmacovigilance, specialist consultant pharmacy services, antimicrobial stewardship, public health interventions, digital health, research, education, clinical governance and continuous quality improvement.

However, she lamented that many Nigerian consultant pharmacists are unable to perform these functions because of institutional and systemic barriers.

Presenting findings from a national survey involving 32 consultant pharmacists across 30 healthcare facilities in 21 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Olu-Lawal said consultant pharmacists are actively involved in prescription review, pharmaceutical care interventions, residency training and pharmacovigilance, but remain significantly underutilised in multidisciplinary ward rounds and clinical documentation.

The survey showed that while 84 per cent participate in prescription reviews and auditing, only 41 per cent regularly participate in pharmacist-led ward rounds, while just 38 per cent document their clinical interventions in patients’ medical records.

She identified major obstacles limiting consultant pharmacists’ effectiveness as excessive workload, inadequate staffing, limited opportunities for multidisciplinary collaboration, lack of management recognition, restricted access to patient records and exclusion from hospital wards.

According to the survey, 62 per cent of respondents cited excessive workload and staff shortages as the biggest challenge, followed by limited collaboration opportunities at 41 per cent and poor recognition by hospital management at 28 per cent.

To bridge these gaps, Olu-Lawal recommended far-reaching reforms beginning with institutional recognition of consultant pharmacists as essential members of multidisciplinary healthcare teams.

She called on hospitals to grant consultant pharmacists unrestricted access to patient files, electronic medical records and clinical wards to enable them make informed therapeutic decisions alongside physicians and other healthcare professionals.

She also advocated integrating consultant pharmacists into multidisciplinary ward rounds, case conferences, ethics committees and governance structures.

Beyond access, she stressed the need for increased investment in consultant pharmacy services through dedicated budgetary allocations, expansion of residency programmes and specialist training, workforce recruitment and decentralisation of consultant pharmacist positions across federal and state health institutions.

She further recommended task redistribution within hospital pharmacy departments to allow consultant pharmacists focus on advanced clinical responsibilities while routine dispensing functions are handled by other pharmacists.

The keynote speaker urged healthcare managers to recognise consultant pharmacists based on measurable outcomes by supporting research, documenting clinical interventions and making pharmacist-led improvements visible through publications, grand rounds and performance reporting.

She also called for stronger collaboration between pharmacists and other healthcare professionals, encouraging inter-professional education, clearer definition of clinical responsibilities and greater emotional intelligence to foster teamwork and patient-centred care.

Addressing the pharmacy profession itself, Olu-Lawal urged pharmacists to eliminate internal rivalries, strengthen mentorship and build stronger professional networks capable of advancing clinical pharmacy practice nationwide.

She challenged the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) to establish a unified national database on consultant pharmacists’ clinical outcomes, while urging engagement with the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN), the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to support evidence-based expansion of consultant pharmacy practice.

She also charged the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists to lead the standardisation of consultant pharmacy practice, champion policies establishing residency pathways with sustainable funding, institutionalise preceptorship programmes, strengthen research collaborations across West Africa and continuously measure the impact of consultant pharmacist-led interventions.

Olu-Lawal concluded that expanding consultant pharmacists’ clinical roles represents one of the most effective strategies for improving medication safety, reducing avoidable healthcare costs and delivering better health outcomes for Nigerians.

Quoting management expert Peter Drucker, she reminded participants that, “The greatest danger in times of change is not the change itself; it is to act with yesterday’s logic,” urging policymakers, healthcare institutions and pharmacy professionals to embrace reforms that position consultant pharmacists as indispensable members of Nigeria’s modern healthcare delivery system.

Chairman of the Nigeria Chapter of WAPCP Dr. Afusat Adesina, said the conference theme, “Expanding Consultant Pharmacists’ Clinical Roles in Nigeria to Optimize Patient Care and Medication Safety,” reflects the profession’s commitment to repositioning pharmacists as integral members of clinical care teams.

She stressed that consultant pharmacists should move beyond their traditional dispensing roles to become active participants in bedside care, ward rounds, therapeutic decision-making and patient outcomes.

Adesina also highlighted the importance of leveraging health technology to improve medication safety and strengthening local pharmaceutical manufacturing to enhance Nigeria’s medicine security.

Similarly, Chairman of the Conference Planning Committee, Dr. Abubakar Danraka, said the two-day conference was designed to promote evidence-based practice, innovation and collaboration among pharmacy professionals.

According to him, the programme featured scientific paper presentations, capacity-building workshops, interactive sessions and panel discussions focused on integrating consultant pharmacists into multidisciplinary healthcare teams, deploying digital technologies to improve medication safety and advancing local pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Danraka urged participants to use the conference to develop practical solutions that would strengthen pharmaceutical services, improve patient outcomes and shape policies that support the evolving role of consultant pharmacists in Nigeria’s healthcare system.

He also commended the conference planning and local organising committees, sponsors and partners for their contributions to the successful hosting of the event, expressing optimism that the deliberations would translate into stronger pharmaceutical practice and better healthcare delivery nationwide.