What are you doing to protect employees from hazardous drug exposure who don’t have access to the EHR?
When the industry talks about hazardous drug (HD) safety, the focus is usually on two groups: pharmacists who prepare the drugs and nurses/clinicians who administer them.
But HD safety doesn’t end at the bedside.
And honestly, some would argue we’re still not doing enough even for those groups, but that’s a blog for another day (and several we’ve already written).
HDs, including chemotherapy, are excreted for 48–72 hours after treatment (or more!). That means many other employees who care for or interact with patients are regularly exposed to dangerous residue and body fluids.
These often-overlooked groups include:
Each of these employees encounters high-risk exposure through tasks such as:
Nursing assistants absorb a heavy share of hands-on care: toileting, peri-care, cleaning bedpans, changing linens and gowns, lifting and turning patients, transporting specimens and trash, and yet they’re often the least informed about hazardous drug risks and precautions.
Many rely on “the way it’s always been done,” often mirroring tenured nurses whose practices may not reflect the most current safety standards.
Here’s a clip of Dr. AnnMarie Walton from our 2025 Rpharmy webinar series discussing this exact issue: the gap in toileting guidance and the lack of accessible, up-to-date safety information for nursing assistants. https://youtu.be/LrQY6xejuDo
We recently spoke with a patient care technician who heard (through the grapevine) that their facility had implemented Rhazdrugs for HD safety. No one had ever shown her how to use it, and she didn’t know where to find it.
When we walked her through the tool, she kept saying how grateful she was, and how much safer she felt knowing she finally had clear instructions designed for her role.
Her reaction wasn’t unusual.
And that’s exactly the problem.
Over the past year, we’ve invested heavily in helping healthcare systems educate nurses on how to access and use Rhazdrugs. But these other employee groups need the same level of support and face unique obstacles.
Most of them:
So even if a hospital has great policies, they don’t always reach the people most likely to encounter exposure.
Many of the healthcare systems we partner with are going above and beyond to make sure every employee, not just those with EHR access, has the information they need to stay safe. Here are a few ways they’re extending hazardous drug safety across all roles:
We’ve worked with clients to create short training videos for environmental services teams, nursing assistants, and patient care technicians, showing them exactly how to open their Rhazdrugs database from any mobile device or iPad.
These focused sessions help frontline staff feel confident finding the information they need in real time.
For teams who don’t always have a phone or tablet during their shift, some facilities are printing Rhazdrugs patient care activities and posting them directly in patients’ rooms.
This ensures caregivers can quickly reference HD precautions during toileting, cleaning, or mobility support, even without a device in hand.
Clients print out the Rhazdrugs patient care activities information to post in patient rooms, ensuring everyone caring for the patient knows how to protect themselves.
After our client learned that patient care technicians didn’t know Rhazdrugs was available, they partnered with us to create simple, visually clear flyers introducing the tool and explaining where to find it.
These flyers are now posted throughout their facility so every employee, regardless of role or shift, is aware of their HD safety resources.
We created a flyer template to inform all employees about the availability of Rhazdrugs.
We love seeing our clients take creative, proactive steps to reach every corner of their workforce. When hazardous drug safety information is easier to find and easier to use, more employees stay protected, and that’s exactly the goal.
Our mission is straightforward:
Make hazardous drug safety information easy to access, easy to understand, and easy to follow for every healthcare worker who may come into contact with hazardous drugs.
Not just nurses.
Not just pharmacists.
Everyone.
Because protecting employees from HD exposure shouldn’t depend on whether they can log into the EHR.
If your frontline staff can’t quickly find your HD policies, they can’t follow them.
We're here to talk about this problem and help you to close that gap.
Want help bringing HD safety beyond the EHR?
We’d love to talk. Email us at info@rpharmy.com