Standard Precautions in Pharmacy
Standard precautions in pharmacy are infection control practices applied to all patient care situations to prevent transmission of bloodborne and other pathogens, including hand hygiene, PPE use, sharps safety, and proper waste disposal.
Exam Tip
Apply standard precautions to every patient and choose PPE by exposure risk. Do not routinely recap used needles; if a procedure requires recapping, follow approved one-handed or mechanical methods. Vaccination does not universally require gloves. USP 797 and 800 add task-specific compounding and hazardous-drug controls.
What Are Standard Precautions in Pharmacy?
Standard precautions are a set of infection prevention practices that apply to all patients regardless of their diagnosis or infection status. In pharmacy settings, standard precautions protect both pharmacy personnel and patients from exposure to bloodborne pathogens and other infectious agents.
Core Standard Precautions
| Precaution | Description |
|---|---|
| Hand hygiene | Wash with soap/water or use alcohol-based sanitizer before and after patient contact, after removing gloves, between tasks |
| PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) | Gloves, gowns, masks, and eye protection based on the task |
| Respiratory hygiene | Cover coughs/sneezes, provide masks to symptomatic patients |
| Sharps safety | Use sharps containers, do not recap used needles routinely, use safety-engineered devices |
| Safe injection practices | One needle, one syringe, one patient; use single-dose vials when possible |
| Waste disposal | Proper segregation of regular, biohazard, and sharps waste |
| Environmental cleaning | Disinfect surfaces and equipment regularly |
PPE Selection Guide
| Situation | Required PPE |
|---|---|
| Dispensing medications | Gloves (if handling hazardous drugs) |
| Administering immunizations | Hand hygiene; gloves if open hand lesions or anticipated body-fluid exposure, and according to applicable policy |
| Compounding non-sterile | Gloves, hair cover, clean clothing |
| Compounding sterile (USP 797) | Required low-lint garb and sterile gloves; Category 3 requires sterile garb |
| Handling cytotoxic/hazardous drugs | Chemotherapy-rated gloves and other PPE selected for the task; double gloves/gown for specified activities and eye/respiratory protection when indicated |
| Cleaning blood/body fluid spill | Gloves, gown, eye protection if splash risk |
Hazardous Drug Handling (USP 800)
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Receiving | Unpack in designated area with PPE |
| Storage | Separate from non-hazardous drugs |
| Compounding | Apply the required containment controls for hazardous compounding; assessment-of-risk exceptions apply only where USP 800 permits them |
| Administration | Use a compatible closed-system drug-transfer device for NIOSH Table 1 antineoplastic administration when the dosage form allows; it does not replace other controls |
| Spill cleanup | Spill kit required; trained personnel only |
| Waste disposal | Trace-contaminated waste in designated containers |
Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure Protocol
- For skin exposure, wash with soap and water; flush eyes or other mucous membranes with water
- Report the exposure to supervisor
- Seek medical evaluation promptly
- Document the incident
- Follow up testing as recommended
Exam Alert
Standard precautions appear in the Dispensing Process domain. Key points: hand hygiene is the single most important infection control measure, always use gloves when handling hazardous drugs, and do not recap used needles routinely. USP 800 governs hazardous drug handling.
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Aseptic Technique
Aseptic technique is a set of practices and procedures used in sterile compounding to prevent microbial contamination of compounded sterile preparations (CSPs), including proper gowning, hand hygiene, and manipulation within a laminar airflow hood.
USP 795 and USP 797 (Compounding Standards)
USP 795 and USP 797 are United States Pharmacopeia chapters that establish minimum standards for non-sterile compounding (795) and sterile compounding (797), including personnel training, facilities, equipment, and quality assurance requirements.
Compounding Pharmacy
A compounding pharmacy prepares customized medications by mixing, combining, or altering ingredients to create preparations not commercially available, following USP 795 (non-sterile) and USP 797 (sterile) standards.
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