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FYI: Safe Handling of Hazardous Drugs
Every day, technicians, pharmacists, nurses – even shipping and receiving personnel – who handle, prepare and administer hazardous drugs put themselves at risk. Since the late 1990s, numerous studies have documented environmental contamination from cytotoxic agents in hospital pharmacy and nursing locations. On March 26, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released an Alert on the risks of occupational exposure to hazardous drugs.
This important notice concludes that healthcare workers across a variety of functions are impacted physiologically on the job, despite following the standards established in the 1980s for protection against exposure.
It acknowledges that accepted protective measures - biological safety cabinets, protective eyewear, gloves, gowns and masks alone aren’t enough to prevent exposure to hazardous drugs. In the past year, Baxa has run an advertising message regarding this issue with the tagline, “Free yourself from exposure” and an image of a nude woman in shadow who has shed her protective gear. Our goal in designing this message was to make a bold statement about an important healthcare risk. While we did not intend for the ad to be interpreted as indecent or offensive, some customers have told us that this nudity in the context of the workplace was inappropriate and overshadowed the importance of the message. I apologize on the behalf of Baxa and hope that customers continue to provide us with such candid feedback.
Since 1975, Baxa Corporation has focused exclusively on serving the needs of pharmacy and nursing for safe and effective handling, packaging and administration of fluid medications.
In January 2003 we became the exclusive US distributor for the PhaSeal® System. PhaSeal is the only documented closed system for reconstituting, preparing and administering hazardous drugs. Its patented design safely contains both the drug and its vapors, preventing environmental contamination. More than 120 institutions, including some of the nation’s largest, have implemented PhaSeal to protect their workforce. However, many hospitals have not yet recognized that current practice for reconstituting, handling and administering hazardous and investigational drugs is simply not safe enough.
The NIOSH Alert reinforces the message that we have been sharing. If you have not read the Alert and its recommendations for safe practice, I urge you to review a copy. The complete Alert is available on the CDC Web site at:
www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2004-HazDrugAlert.
You may also request a technical summary of the document by returning the enclosed business reply card. As healthcare providers, you balance the risks and rewards of your profession every day. Baxa wants to make pharmacy practice safer for you and your patients.
Greg Baldwin, Chairman and CEO
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