United States Pharmacopeia (USP) <800> standards for handling hazardous drugs in healthcare settings is set to go in effect on Dec. 1, 2019. It sets the standards for the safe handling of hazardous drugs from receipt through disposal to ensure the safety of patients, the environment and healthcare staff who work with these drugs daily.
Compliance with these standards has a misconception of being too complicated for some healthcare facilities, but compliance with the standards simply hinges on the effective assessment of risk.
Karen Kellogg, PharmD and Director of Practice Consulting for Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions, shared the following tip with Becker's Hospital Review:
"Compliance may seem complicated. But it's really not … if you're a general contractor on a job site, you want your workers to wear hard hats. If you're an oncologist, you want to protect your staff as well and have them wear personal protective equipment."
"Assess where your risk is and how to mitigate it best via policies, procedures, personal protective equipment and training."
"One way to conduct that audit is to consider the workflow cycle of your hazardous drugs. Follow the path they take through your institution — which includes selection, storage, ordering, dispensing, administering and monitoring."
"Where are the exposure risks along the way, and what can you to do minimize them? For example: when should you wear gloves, provide separate storage cabinets, or conduct additional training?"