Congratulations! We mean that sincerely. It is no easy feat to complete an Assessment of Risk (AoR) for a single hazardous drug much less the hundreds of HDs you use within your facility that require this level of documentation. So, now what?
The AoR isn’t just meant to be documented and put on a shelf. These safe handling requirements specific to your healthcare organization must be followed to protect healthcare workers from risky HD exposure. But what does your AoR look like and how do healthcare workers access them?
The USP <800> does not require a universal AoR form leaving it up to you as far as what the final document looks like. It must contain the drug, dosage form and <800> requirements, but can take the form of a “simple” spreadsheet. What appears to make it easy for you to customize your AoR also leaves you open to interpretation by inspectors and more importantly by the healthcare workers depending on this critical information to protect themselves.
Most organizations store this info in spreadsheets or in SharePoint, in drug dispensing machines or flat text files uploaded into your EHR. AoR safety information is also translated into the standard operating procedures (SOP) across an organization. Multiple locations mean multiple places to update, which leaves your organization open to risk.
While multiple storage locations increase the chance for mistakes, it also decreases the chances that the information will be accessed and used properly. What was all the work done to identify HDs, their dosages and document their specific handling requirements if they wouldn’t be used by the people who need them? Also, hate to be the bearer of bad news, but in a short 12 months, your AoR will have to be reviewed again.
What if you could simplify the documentation and communication of critical AoR aspects like PPE, safe handling, waste disposal, Safety Data Sheets, and more? Not only could this detailed information be communicated both in text and visuals making it simple to outline the PPE, disposal requirements and more, but it could also be accessed by any mobile device or computer and within the EHR. By simplifying the information, increasing access and making it easier to update it across the organization, you can reduce risk and increase safety exponentially.
Now we’ll really crank it up a notch. What if YOU didn’t have to do any of it and you could rely on a partner with more than 30 years of formulary and HD experience to take all of the hard work you put into your AoR and translate it into an easy to access and use format?
That’s what we do at Rpharmy using our Rhazdrugs software platform. Check out this quick video to see how Rhazdrugs places hazardous drug safety info where your healthcare workers need it, when they need it.
