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FYI: THE VALUE OF SAFE HANDLING
Over the past three years, Baxa has developed a passion for handling hazardous drugs safely. As the exclusive US distributor of the PhaSeal® product line, we certainly have an economic stake in this area. However, if that’s all there was to it, PhaSeal would be just another line item in our catalog.
Our passion is fueled by the knowledge that providing closed systems for safe handling helps our customers, the people we care about most, protect their health in ways that have a profound impact on their lives.
Recently I visited a pharmacy director who is a long-term Baxa customer. He took me to task about the NIOSH Alert and the cost impact of complying with its safe handling recommendations. In his view, a small amount of exposure was not an issue for most people, and healthcare providers can allow women who are planning to start families to “opt out” of the chemo service to avoid serious health issues.
Unfortunately, despite significant research and the publication of the NIOSH Alert, this point of view is not uncommon. And, simply reassigning personnel within the pharmacy may not eliminate their risk of exposure. In fact, studies have shown that surface contamination and biological exposure can happen in areas that are not directly involved in the preparation and administration of hazardous drugs.
The risks are sufficient that the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health was compelled to alert the pharmacy and nursing community of the issue. The Institute recommends the use of both primary and secondary controls to reduce the risk of environmental exposure to hazardous drugs – biological safety cabinets or other engineering controls, combined with a closed system. Leading hospitals across the United States have taken up the charge and adopted the PhaSeal System for safe handling of their hazardous drugs.
The health benefits for workers in facilities using PhaSeal can be quantified only through a review of the documented infertility, miscarriage and other adverse effects among those involved in preparing and administering hazardous drugs.
We believe that it is important to minimize exposure to carcinogenic or mutagenic agents, no matter how small, wherever possible. We understand that many of our long-time customers have not yet come around to sharing our thinking on closed systems and safe-handling. If you have already implemented PhaSeal I salute you, and if you remain skeptical I ask that you remain open to dialogue and discussion on this as we move into 2005.
Our passion for promoting the best practices in safe handling comes from the knowledge that they will impact our customers’ quality of life. As we begin a new year, you can expect Baxa to continue as a passionate advocate for reducing environmental contamination through the use of closed systems. But we’re not alone.
More than two hundred of the premier hospitals and cancer centers in the U.S. use PhaSeal to dramatically reduce their risk of hazardous drug exposure.
If you need more information, give us a call and we’ll put you in touch with an experienced PhaSeal user for more information. If you decide to move forward, our Clinical Support specialists will work with your pharmacy and nursing teams to ensure a smooth implementation.
I believe the value of employee safety is priceless, but I’d love to hear what you think! Send me an email at greg.baldwin@baxa.com.
Gregory J. Baldwin
Chairman and CEO
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