I am so grateful to Angie for being our guest blogger last week and introducing a very important topic – USP <800> compliance.
I realize I am giving away my age, but I am part of a generation that still remembers driving around in a car without seatbelts. Our moms would reach across the front seat and hold you in your seat with her arm. We would slide across the back seat with your brothers and sisters on sharp turns. Then we got lap belts that gave way to three-point seat belts and airbags. And we resisted seatbelts at first, but now we feel unsafe without them.
In the healthcare world we have been using and handling these potentially hazardous medications for years without a seatbelt, so to speak. So why now do we have USP <800>? Because like the invention of seatbelts, we now know better and we can do better. And it’s an enforceable regulation.
There are a lot of ways for organizations to be compliant with USP <800>. An organization can please the inspectors and check the boxes or they can please the inspectors and check the box AND keep their employees safe. It is a choice. Many of the requirements for USP <800> can be met by placing binders and notebooks on shelves in a central location hoping they will be accessed. But wouldn’t it be so much better for everyone if this valuable safety information was accessible to employees at the point of care? That’s where Rhazdrugs comes in.
Rhazdrugs is a comprehensive list of hazardous drugs and a database that communicates hazardous drug disposal and handling to ensure healthcare worker safety across your entire organization. Hospital, pharmacy, veterinary clinic, skilled nursing facility – wherever it may be, Rhazdrugs provides critical information and much needed peace of mind so that healthcare workers can remain focused on their patients.
In my family we have three doctors, five nurses, and others who are employed in the healthcare sector. We are working hard to do our part to keep our loved ones informed and safe from harm. And we want to help you and your organizations to do the same.
