When drugs are included in the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's (NIOSH) Alert on Hazardous Drugs, there should be evidence that supports that they are harmful to practitioners in the workplace. That's the message ASHP delivered to NIOSH officials this week in response to the agency's call for comments on the proposed update to its list of hazardous drugs.

The Society urged caution in the evaluation and classification of drug products and noted that the improper designation of drugs as hazardous would place undue burden on health systems, health care practitioners, and other facility personnel. ASHP's comments also recommended a re-evaluation of select agents designated as hazardous in the 2004 NIOSH Alert on Hazardous Drugs and proposed that stakeholders develop a process to determine and assign the level of risk associated with a given drug and offer recommended precautions for its handling.

ASHP also serves on an expert panel convened by NIOSH. The panel, which includes representatives from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), industry, academia, professional and patient advocacy groups, will advise NIOSH whether the drugs on proposed list are appropriately designated as hazardous. NIOSH will review the panel's recommendations and then issue a final list of medications to include on the list of hazardous drugs.

Click here to read ASHP's comment letter.

http://www.ashp.org