Pharmacist Calls Out Nigerian Hospitals Concealing Names of Medications Issued to Their Patients (Video)
A Nigerian pharmacist has issued a warning to hospital employees in Nigeria.
According to her, Nigerian hospitals are fond of removing names of medications from their original package in order for the patients not to know the name.
In a TikTok video, she questioned private hospitals for the bad habit.
In her words:
‘’Is it a crime for patients to know what they(patients) are swallowing. Hospitals that remove drugs from their original packaging. Even if you remove it, you do not even bother to name the drug. You just give them a drug in an envelop, no label…who are you hiding from? why are drugs being treated like a state secret? You go to the hospital, pay for consultation , pay for drugs and then they will hand drugs to you in an envelop…No name, no clue…just instruction on how to use…one morning or night after food.
One what? is it a pain killer, an antibiotics? please specify! ‘’
‘’So I should be kept in the dark as a patient? I should not have an idea of what I am taking in?’
She continued by listing the negative effects this practice has on patients.
‘’One, it strips patients of their rights to informed care. Two, it prevents people from learning about their own health. Three, it creates room for abuse and errors and even also dependency..How will a patient know what to avoid next time if they react to that drug you have given them? How will they educate themselves for drug interaction if there are multiple medications? Health care is not witchcraft! It is science and there is a part of science that tells everyone that science is all about transparency.
This practice is not protecting patients at all. If you are giving a patient a medication, they have the right to know the name of the drug, what the drug is for, the possible side effect, how long to use it..it is called Patient empowerment and not medical gatekeeping., Stop playing hide and seek with medicine’s name””
Watch the video below
