safety

1. safety in the pharmacy
•what is 6th leading cause of death?
•7000 fatalities/year from medicasl errors
•100000 fatalities/year from adverse drug
reactions
•celebrities who have been killed by
pharmaceutical mistakes, overdoses, etc?

2. safety in the pharmacy
• A. Personal safety
• 1. Safety from physical harm
• a. substances
• b. supplies (chemicals, poisons, etc.)
• c. equipment
• d. improper body mechanics
• 2. Employee responsibilities
• a. maintain a safe work place
• b. apply principles of proper body mechanics
• c. wear appropriate PPE (Personal Protection Equipment)
• d. follow proper procedures in handling pharmaceutical agents
that may pose a hazard to the practitioner
• e. know where to locate the material safety data sheets (MSDS)
• f. know and apply policies and procedures in case of
• emergency

3. • i. fire safety
• ii. chemical spills and other hazardous materials
• iii. body fluids
• iv. standard precautions
• v. equipment maintenance and failure
• vi. internal disasters (fire, robbery, bomb threat, etc.)
• vii. external disaster (weather related, traffic disaster, etc.)
• Environmental Safety
• 1. Clean work place
• 2. Proper ventilation
• 3. Proper lighting
• 4. Adequate set-up and layout of work place
• 5. Properly functioning equipment
• 6. Well trained employees aware of potential hazards

4. • Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
• 1. Workplaces may be inspected by OSHA officers without prior
• announcement in order to accomplish intent to decrease hazards
• in the workplace and maintain a reporting system for monitoring
• job-related injuries and illness
• 2. They develop mandatory job safety and health standards
• Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
• (JCAHO)
• 1. Pharmacy standards of JCAHO provide quasi-legal standard
of practice for the profession
• 2. In court of law practice standards define accepted
professional practice and assume quasi-legal status
• 3. Pharmacies must meet strict standards in order to be
accredited by JCAHO
• 4. Accreditation is voluntary but important if business is
interested in dealing with third party payers who require
certification through accreditation process, e.g. Medicaid, etc.

5. • Pharmacy must ensure
• 1. Right drug – always double check the label
on bulk bottle for
• strength and correctness
• 2. Right patient
• 3. Right dosage
• 4. Right route
• 5. Right time
• 6. Right attitude

6. • Practitioner must be familiar with
• 1. Common side effects
• 2. Contraindications
• 3. Drug or food reactions with medications
• 4. Generic drugs that may be substituted
• D. Practitioner should know at minimum the following information for the
drugs most used in individual practice setting or geographical location
• 1. Adverse drug reactions
• 2. Side effects
• 3. Contraindications
• 4. Drug/food interactions
• 5. Safe/effective dosage range
• 6. Common dosage regimens
• 7. Dosage forms
• 8. Route of administration
• E. Reviewing Refills
• 1. Number of refills
• 2. Correct drug selection
• 3. Significantly early or late requests for refills may indicate
• medication misuse

7. • Beware of dispensing errors
. Proper storage of pharmaceuticals
• 1. Store in original container until dispensed
• 2. Follow manufacturer’s directions for proper storage
• 3. Follow proper disposal of expired drugs
• a. deteriorated drugs are ineffective
• b. deteriorated drugs may be a hazard if a condition
not treated appropriately
• c. deterioration may cause chemical changes leading
to dangerous reactions
• All schedule II drugs must be kept under lock and key.
With schedule III,
• IV, and V drugs, lock and key storage is optional but
suggested