Rockville, Md., February 1, 2016 — The United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) published today an important new standard as part of a suite of healthcare quality standards included in the United States Pharmacopeia–National Formulary (USP–NF).

The new general chapter, <800> Hazardous Drugs – Handling in Healthcare Settings, has been developed to help protect personnel and patients, and reduce the risk of residual exposure in healthcare settings.  The standard applies to all healthcare personnel (i.e., physicians, nurses, veterinarians, pharmacists and technicians) and all healthcare facilities where hazardous drugs are handled or manipulated, including their storage and distribution — with a goal of preventing and/or limiting exposure.

“Healthcare workers are on the frontline of protecting patients and consumers from the risks of hazardous drugs but are also themselves at risk,” noted Jaap Venema, Ph.D., executive vice-president and chief science officer of USP. “Each year, approximately 8 million healthcare workers in the US are potentially exposed to hazardous drugs.  Practitioners are frequently unaware of the scope of the risk or the measures that should be taken to reduce such risk.  The new standard defines processes intended to minimize exposure to hazardous drugs in healthcare settings, thereby protecting healthcare workers as well as patients.”

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