Afrohits
HEALTH
HEALTHNews
The ‘Care’ part of healthcare in Nigeria’s Healthcare system is missing.
June 13, 2020072

Just so you know and understand that I did not just come up with this conclusion, I did my research. Let me start by saying some few things;


Patients go to the hospital when it is practically too late. Most times, they go to the hospital when their health conditions have reached a point of no return. At this point, there is nothing the healthcare professional/facility can actually do for them than to manage their present health condition until God finally calls them home.


This actually means that, there are some illnesses that are actually present in our bodies that we don’t know about and for us to help ourselves, we need to undergo certain tests and checkups. The liver for example is the largest internal organ in the body and it can still be functioning even after 70% of it function is gone. Until when it gets to 80% sometimes before the patient will start experiencing signs and symptoms of Liver failure.
What am trying to say here is that, there should be a system to constantly remind individuals on the importance of comprehensive medical checkups which is very important.

Now, Money is actually a limiting factor to some individuals but I got to understand that with constant counseling on the importance of the medical checkups most patients source the money to do this tests. This comprehensive medical tests are many but individuals can undergo them base on their financial capabilities and can even go as low as doing this tests one after the other.


I was in a pharmacy one day, when a young boy came complaining of mild headache and tiredness. He was given a drug to take and few hours later, the boy was rushed back to the pharmacy with some things on his body like skin eruptions. The pharmacist said he was suffering from hypersensitivity reaction. I was made to understand that the child has inherited the problem from his parents but my question was that, is there no way the medical facility will have that information saved somewhere in order to prevent the occurrence of such in the first place? and also a means in which other healthcare facilities could also have access to that information about the boy so that whenever he goes other healthcare centers, he won’t have to worry about anything anymore. If there was a system to have all our records in check, I am very sure what happened to that boy would not have happened

Continue Reading: https://afrohits.com.ng/the-care-part-of-healthcare-in-nigerias-healthcare-system-is-missing/

There is no synergy in health sector in Nigeria

Am glad you have seen that

flyingpig:
There is no synergy in health sector in Nigeria

...must we continue reading from the link? Why not drop your complete submission here?

I copied it from the link thats shy.

KelvinCoaster:
...must we continue reading from the link?
Why not drop your complete submission here?

Hmmmm... .. I am short of "visible words".




This has been an age-long problem

flyingpig:
There is no synergy in health sector in Nigeria

What has synergy got to do with delayed hospital presentations and people's poor health-seeking behaviour in Nigeria?

I don't know of any country where people are reminded to go to the hospitals early in the course of their illness or for regular health checks.
People develop that naturally as a result of the values they place on their lives.
In the middle east where I work, people come to the hospitals immediately at the first sign of any abnormality in their health, and visit regularly for routine checks, even when they're not sick.

In Nigeria, nothing, including life, is valued, and such health-seeking behaviour is completely absent.

I know poverty and the absence of a functional health insurance are contributing, but at the individual level, we need serious re-orientation and improvements.
We mustn't always blame others(individuals, institutions, organisations, governments, etc) for our problems.

Westniggur:

Afrohits
HEALTH
HEALTHNews
The ‘Care’ part of healthcare in Nigeria’s Healthcare system is missing.
June 13, 2020072

Just so you know and understand that I did not just come up with this conclusion, I did my research. Let me start by saying some few things;


Patients go to the hospital when it is practically too late. Most times, they go to the hospital when their health conditions have reached a point of no return. At this point, there is nothing the healthcare professional/facility can actually do for them than to manage their present health condition until God finally calls them home.


This actually means that, there are some illnesses that are actually present in our bodies that we don’t know about and for us to help ourselves, we need to undergo certain tests and checkups. The liver for example is the largest internal organ in the body and it can still be functioning even after 70% of it function is gone. Until when it gets to 80% sometimes before the patient will start experiencing signs and symptoms of Liver failure.
What am trying to say here is that, there should be a system to constantly remind individuals on the importance of comprehensive medical checkups which is very important.

Now, Money is actually a limiting factor to some individuals but I got to understand that with constant counseling on the importance of the medical checkups most patients source the money to do this tests. This comprehensive medical tests are many but individuals can undergo them base on their financial capabilities and can even go as low as doing this tests one after the other.


I was in a pharmacy one day, when a young boy came complaining of mild headache and tiredness. He was given a drug to take and few hours later, the boy was rushed back to the pharmacy with some things on his body like skin eruptions. The pharmacist said he was suffering from hypersensitivity reaction. I was made to understand that the child has inherited the problem from his parents but my question was that, is there no way the medical facility will have that information saved somewhere in order to prevent the occurrence of such in the first place? and also a means in which other healthcare facilities could also have access to that information about the boy so that whenever he goes other healthcare centers, he won’t have to worry about anything anymore. If there was a system to have all our records in check, I am very sure what happened to that boy would not have happened

Continue Reading: https://afrohits.com.ng/the-care-part-of-healthcare-in-nigerias-healthcare-system-is-missing/

Concerning your last paragraph, even if the child already has a well documented file in the hospital, wouldn't he have still developed the same problem by going to the pharmacy to buy drugs?
Were the parents, knowing fully his history of reaction to drugs, supposed to take him to the pharmacy instead of the hospital?
Are pharmacist meant to have patients' records in their shops?
There's parental irresponsibility in this case, and that happens every day in Nigeria.
That child has no business in the pharmacy whenever he's sick.
The normal thing would be to take him to the same hospital that has his records or any other hospital that will be able to access his past medication information from the previous hospital or from the parents, whenever he's sick.

ChybuzzDD:


What has synergy got to do with delayed hospital presentations and people's poor health-seeking behaviour in Nigeria?

I don't know of any country where people are reminded to go to the hospitals early in the course of their illness or for regular health checks.
People develop that naturally as a result of the values they place on their lives.
In the middle east where I work, people come to the hospitals immediately at the first sign of any abnormality in their health, and visit regularly for routine checks, even when they're not sick.

In Nigeria, nothing, including life, is valued, and such health-seeking behaviour is completely absent.

I know poverty and the absence of a functional health insurance are contributing, but at the individual level, we need serious re-orientation and improvements.
We mustn't always blame others(individuals, institutions, organisations, governments, etc) for our problems.

C

ChybuzzDD:


What has synergy got to do with delayed hospital presentations and people's poor health-seeking behaviour in Nigeria?

I don't know of any country where people are reminded to go to the hospitals early in the course of their illness or for regular health checks.
People develop that naturally as a result of the values they place on their lives.
In the middle east where I work, people come to the hospitals immediately at the first sign of any abnormality in their health, and visit regularly for routine checks, even when they're not sick.

In Nigeria, nothing, including life, is valued, and such health-seeking behaviour is completely absent.

I know poverty and the absence of a functional health insurance are contributing, but at the individual level, we need serious re-orientation and improvements.
We mustn't always blame others(individuals, institutions, organisations, governments, etc) for our problems.

Synergy means combined action.

See I once saw where in a American pharmacy, an old man walked in and before he got attendee to by the Pharmacist, his health records were assessed for proper evaluation of his medical records. Such things can be very vital to prevent allergies or understand the best approach for treating the patient or administering drugs to him.

Synergy between the physicians and pharmacists means that the latter can be able to assess the patient health records prior to administering him or her the prescribed drugs. You should be in the know that pharmacists require medical records of a patient in order to be most informed before cancelling a prescription, re-writting or even sending the patient back to the Doctor.

flyingpig:


Synergy means combined action.

See I once saw where in a American pharmacy, an old man walked in and before he got attendee to by the Pharmacist, his health records were assessed for proper evaluation of his medical records. Such things can be very vital to prevent allergies or understand the best approach for treating the patient or administering drugs to him.

Synergy between the physicians and pharmacists means that the latter can be able to assess the patient health records prior to administering him or her the prescribed drugs. You should be in the know that pharmacists require medical records of a patient in order to be most informed before cancelling a prescription, re-writting or even sending the patient back to the Doctor.

If the pharmacist was able to access the patient's medical records, it only means the patient had previously been in the hospital, unlike in Nigeria where the pharmacy shop is usually the first point of call.
Again, medical records are confidential, and I strongly doubt that a pharmacist could have accessed it from his shop simply by logging into a computer.
He might have contacted the hospital without you knowing the full details of the processes taken.
Finally, even if that really happened, it was made easy by the fact both the patient and pharmacist acted responsibly.
The American patient knew his medical condition, and was able to inform the pharmacist, who equally knew that medical history is important in drug prescription.
The story is different in Nigeria where patients do not know or care about their diagnosis, and respond swiftly with "God forbid" or "it's not my portion" even when told.
I've noticed that each time I meet an Indian patient, he'll usually use the initial 2-3 minutes to give full details of his medical condition, demonstrating full knowledge of his problem.
That's a totally different thing in Nigeria, where you'll even look like an enemy when you tell a patient about his diagnosis.

The problem of the healthcare system in Nigeria is very complex, and the blame runs from the individuals/patients to the government.

You have a point but in advance communities, there is a way those documents can be linked to other healthcare sectors.
It could be in form of an online documentation, a hand card carrying relevant information for the patient to present anything he/she is going to the pharmacy or any hospital

ChybuzzDD:


Concerning your last paragraph, even if the child already has a well documented file in the hospital, wouldn't he have still developed the same problem by going to the pharmacy to buy drugs?
Were the parents, knowing fully his history of reaction to drugs, supposed to take him to the pharmacy instead of the hospital?
Are pharmacist meant to have patients' records in their shops?
There's parental irresponsibility in this case, and that happens every day in Nigeria.
That child has no business in the pharmacy whenever he's sick.
The normal thing would be to take him to the same hospital that has his records or any other hospital that will be able to access his past medication information from the previous hospital or from the parents, whenever he's sick.

ChybuzzDD:


If the pharmacist was able to access the patient's medical records, it only means the patient had previously been in the hospital, unlike in Nigeria where the pharmacy shop is usually the first point of call.
Again, medical records are confidential, and I strongly doubt that a pharmacist could have accessed it from his shop simply by logging into a computer.
He might have contacted the hospital without you knowing the full details of the processes taken.
Finally, even if that really happened, it was made easy by the fact both the patient and pharmacist acted responsibly.
The American patient knew his medical condition, and was able to inform the pharmacist, who equally knew that medical history is important in drug prescription.
The story is different in Nigeria where patients do not know or care about their diagnosis, and respond swiftly with "God forbid" or "it's not my portion" even when told.
I've noticed that each time I meet an Indian patient, he'll usually use the initial 2-3 minutes to give full details of his medical condition, demonstrating full knowledge of his problem.
That's a totally different thing in Nigeria, where you'll even look like an enemy when you tell a patient about his diagnosis.

The problem of the healthcare system in Nigeria is very complex, and the blame runs from the individuals/patients to the government.

I understand you, that the blame should be apportioned both to individuals and to government.

Individuals act out of ignorance, government is better informed than them, shouldn't it be the duty of government to inform patients through strategic campaigns, on the importance of keeping your medical records both by your self and with your doctor?

Some section of the populace may be illiterates or poorly educated, so it is in good advice that government should conduct a sensitizing campaign on keeping medical records. People don't just know things from birth.

Well, a government enforced or guided synergy between physicians and pharmacists can help pharmacists assess medical records of patients which should be in database of hospitals.


My opinion because I'm a student pharmacist in Nigeria