Community pharmacists get insurance policy

pharmacy

(By Adebayo Oladejo)

The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) has signed on to a Professional Indemnity Insurance Policy Scheme for its members.

Speaking on the decision, national chairman of ACPN, Pharm. (Alh.)Olufemi Ismail Adebayo, said the signing of the policy was born of the goal of the association to ensure that its members are protected in the course of carrying out their professional duties, and to ensure that the standard of the profession is raised to meet up with what is obtainable in the developed world.

“As an association, we know what is good for our members and it is our desire that all our members operate with peace of mind in their environments and to also add value to their practice,” Adebayo said. “We decided to sign on the scheme because we know in the recent past, we have had some unsavoury incidents that have brought the profession to disrepute, with the most recent being the Cynthia Osokogu murder case.”

In his own words, Pharm. AdeshinaOpanubi, project manager of Pharmalliance Consulting, whose company is responsible for managing the scheme, noted that the policy has positioned ACPN as one of the leading professional associations which hold their members in high esteem.

Stating the benefit of the policy, Opanubi said, “For just a fee of N3000 per pharmacist, every pharmacist who subscribes has access to the N100 million indemnity cover that the association bought. This money can be accessed to offset the bills incurred either for legal costs or damages awarded. In the absence of the policy, the affected pharmacist would have to pay out of pocket in the case of any unfortunate incident.”

While commending the executive and national membership of ACPN for buying into the scheme, Opanubi advised other technical arms, especially those in hospital practice and those in industrial practice to also subscribe to the policy.