Our conversations with customers and prospects consistently reveal crucial information about the challenges in protecting healthcare workers from hazardous drug exposure. A recent discussion with a major healthcare system, with over 17,000 employees and 3,000 affiliated physicians, highlighted their impressive proactive approach to safety.
We often stress the importance of providing HD safety information at the point of care. It's not just about equipping clinicians, nurses, and other staff with the latest PPE and disposal instructions. The ease of access to this information is a game-changer, directly influencing the health and well-being of these dedicated healthcare workers. In addition to implementing Rhazdrugs to protect healthcare workers, this healthcare system has gone the extra mile to inform anyone entering a patient room about the presence of hazardous drugs.
Signs of Care
This new Rhazdrugs customer posts signs outside a patient room to alert clinicians, environmental services, and even visitors like family and friends about HDs. The signs are used in hospitals and oncology facilities to warn of an HD treatment in use, like chemotherapy, and illustrate the PPE needed to handle HDs. They’re easy to read and understand, increasing the likelihood that the instructions will be followed.
We applaud this additional “point of care” alert that effectively protects all who enter a patient’s room from HD exposure. As we know exposure occurs not only during administration but in the disposal of HDs or even when using the restroom or in emesis, making it important that visitors are also aware of the exposure risk and what to do in these situations. What about when the patient goes home or if a patient is treated by home health? These signs can alert anyone in or visiting the home to the exposure risk.
All Signs Point to Safety
This is the same philosophy we follow with Rhazdrugs where we offer customers safety information that is easy to access in time-intensive situations. In fact, Rhazdrugs offers the choice to communicate safe handling and disposal instructions via text, images or both. The ability to customize Rhazdrugs’ safety information is vital because no two healthcare systems are the same - trust us, we’ve talked to and worked with many of you! The goal of all efforts is to protect healthcare workers from exposure to hazardous drugs and hopefully reduce the CDC’s estimation that more than 8 million healthcare workers are exposed each year.
If you have questions about hazardous drug safety or our solutions, I’m always happy to chat. Email us at info@rpharmy.com. Also check out the always free resources on the Safety First Blog covering formulary, hazardous drugs, USP <800> and topics such as LASA, Should, Shall, Must and more. Our video series on USP <800> compliance may be helpful as you continue that effort.
