Pharmacist Interventions and Barriers to Pharmaceutical Care in a Secondary-Care Facility in Nigeria

BackgroundPharmaceutical care is a patient-centered practice model in which pharmacists assume responsibility for identifying, preventing, and resolving medication-related problems to optimize therapeutic outcomes. In Nigeria, pharmaceutical care activities within hospital settings have expanded over time; however, evidence describing the frequency of specific pharmacist intervention activities and the structural barriers influencing their delivery at the facility level remains limited. ObjectivesThis study aimed to (1) describe the types and frequency of pharmaceutical care intervention activities performed by pharmacists in a secondary-care facility in Nigeria, and (2) identify barriers limiting effective pharmaceutical care delivery in this setting. MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among pharmacists at a 50-bed secondary-care facility in Ibadan, Nigeria. All pharmacists employed at the facility were invited to participate. Data was collected using a structured, self-administered questionnaire assessing pharmacist demographics, frequency of intervention activities, perceived barriers to pharmaceutical care delivery, and recommendations for improvement. Quantitative data was analyzed descriptively using frequencies and percentages. ResultsTwelve pharmacists participated in this study (response rate: 92.3%). Pharmacists reported frequent engagement in clinically meaningful interventions, including: therapeutic substitutions (87%), provision of drug information to prescribers (83%), prevention of duplicate therapy, and dosage adjustments. Less frequently reported activities included adverse drug reaction reporting and counseling on medication storage. Major barriers to pharmaceutical care delivery were primarily system-related, including: limited access to patient medical records (92%), inadequate privacy for patient consultations (88%), and inefficient documentation systems (83%). Staffing levels and clinical knowledge were not perceived as major barriers. ConclusionPharmacists in this secondary-care facility actively engaged in medication optimization and patient safety-oriented interventions; however, system-level constraints limited the delivery of comprehensive pharmaceutical care. Addressing infrastructural and documentation barriers is essential to strengthen pharmaceutical care practice in secondary-care hospital settings in Nigeria and similar low-and middle-income country (LMIC) contexts.