Developing a Pharmacist-Patient Communication Standards Framework for Dispensing Practice in Katsina State

Effective pharmacist-patient communication is a prerequisite for safe and effective medication use, yet communication standards for dispensing pharmacists in Katsina State community and hospital pharmacies are largely undefined and unenforced. This study developed a pharmacist-patient communication standards framework for dispensing practice in Katsina State, North West Nigeria. A framework development methodology combining communication audit, literature synthesis, and stakeholder consensus was employed. Direct observation of 200 dispensing encounters across 20 community and hospital pharmacies in Katsina metropolis using a validated communication quality checklist identified critical gaps in counselling duration (mean 42 seconds), information completeness (adequate in only 31.5 percent of encounters), Hausa language use when appropriate (67.3 percent of appropriate encounters), and patient question solicitation (27.0 percent). Literature synthesis drew on published pharmacy communication frameworks from WHO and the International Pharmaceutical Federation, adapted for the sociolinguistic context of North West Nigeria. The resulting standards framework defines twelve communication competency standards across four domains: patient greeting and identification, medication information provision, patient comprehension checking, and follow-up and referral guidance. Minimum counselling duration benchmarks and language use standards are specified. Validation using a Delphi panel of 14 pharmacists and communication experts achieved consensus on all 12 competency standards. The study recommends adoption of the framework by the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria PCN-NW zone as the minimum communication standard for pharmacy licence renewal.

Keywords: pharmacist-patient communication, dispensing standards, Katsina State, pharmaceutical counselling, North West Nigeria