Notes from the field: availability of satellite pharmacies and pharmacy service units in Nigerian hospitals-implications for pharmaceutical care

The optimal provision of pharmaceutical care services requires an adequate number of pharmacists, satellite pharmacies and service units at healthcare facilities. We examined the availability of these requirements at Nigerian hospitals using the 2016 nationwide inspection reports of hospital pharmacies conducted by the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria. Records of 254 hospitals inspected were retrieved, of which 171 (67.3%) were public. The total number of pharmacists across facilities was 753. The most common satellite pharmacy units recorded were antiretroviral 80 (31.5%) and emergency departments 48 (18.8%). The most common service units were drug revolving funds 176 (69.3%) and drug information 112 (44.1%) units. These findings suggest the availability of pharmacists, satellite pharmacies and service units are inadequate for the optimal delivery of pharmaceutical care services at healthcare facilities in Nigeria. Therefore, there is a need for interventions to improve the provision of pharmaceutical care services at health care facilities in Nigeria.