Lessons from Jackson's death

The late musical icon, Michael Jackson, died on June 25, 2009 and very recently, his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, was convicted on counts of involuntary manslaughter for negligent use of the prescription drug, Propofol which was fingered as the major cause of Jacksons death. Propofol is a general anaesthetic, specifically a short-acting intravenously administered hypnotic agent used mostly in hospital settings.However, there is the need to highlight the very important role that pharmacists play generally in safeguarding public health and the huge gaps in the Nigerian environment in particular.The pharmacies, quantities and times that Dr Murray purchased the drugs were easily determined because the American drug distribution system is fairly well organised. In Nigeria, the haphazard system causes even the most potent drugs be obtained and sold inappropriately by charlatans, patent medicine dealers, etc.These have definitely led to thousands of deaths and illnesses; but due to dearth of statistics, the impact cannot be adequately determined.The continued confusing culture of the various names and spurious services such as drug outlet , chemist shop, drug market, the unregistered private hospitals, clinics, etc who stockpile and dish out drugs, etc contribute to the high rates of mortality(deaths) and morbidity (illnesses) in Nigeria.In my view, the three operational definitions and physical structures should be the wholesale pharmacy, the community (retail) pharmacy and the hospital pharmacy. That way, the pharmaceutical audit trail can be guaranteed (remember the MyPikin incident) and pharmacists would be more induced to providing one of their core roles- ensuring the rational use of drugs to promote public health.They are the healthcare professionals trained and legally mandated to manufacture and provide drugs; as well as to ensure their standards, safety and efficacy.- Mr. Yinka Johnson, is MD, Cord Healthcare Company
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