Hazardous Drug Exposure and Medical Surveillance

CME/MOC: 1.5
TRACK: OEM Education and Scientific Research

Melissa McDiarmid, MD, MPH, DABT, FACOEM, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
Richard D. Newcomb, MD, MPH, FACOEM, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Mark Russi, MD, MPH, FACOEM, Yale New Haven Health System, New Haven, CT
Melanie Swift, MD, FACOEM, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
Marcelo Targino, MD, MPH, FACOEM, FACP, Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, NJ

Hazardous drug handling entails well recognized and common occupational exposure risks for health care and pharmaceutical personnel in a range of workplaces. Environmental controls may not fully mitigate exposure risk, particularly in health care settings, and medical surveillance for hazardous drug handlers is recommended in national guidelines. However, the specificity and clinical value of surveillance tests are controversial. The session will include evidence for current recommendations, analysis of risks and value for specific tests, evaluation of current surveillance practices in health care and pharmaceutical populations, and operational challenges in medical surveillance. This session was organize by the Medical Center Occupational Health Special Interest Section, in conjunction with the Physicians in the Pharmaceutical Industry Special Interest Section.