ABSTRACT
During the preparation of anti-cancer drugs, mutual verification with another pharmacist is performed to prevent preparation mistakes. In a small-to-medium sized hospital with relatively few pharmacists, it is common for nurses to perform verifications. The nurses approach the safety cabinet only lightly protected by their clothing. Thus, occupational exposure to anti-cancer drugs, which are hazard drugs is a concern. To prevent occupational exposure, we implemented and investigated the effectiveness of an “anti-cancer drug preparation camera support system”, which allowed two-way communication and video recording between an anti-cancer drug preparation room and a pharmacy preparation room at different locations. The amount of exposure to anti-cancer drugs was defined as the time required to verify the anti-cancer drug. The average daily exposure time was calculated based on the number of verifications and the average time for each verification. This value was then compared with the exposure time when the camera system was implemented. In addition, the frequency of work interruption when a pharmacist verified, after the introduction, was assessed. The effectiveness of the camera supported system was validated, the verification time for anti-cancer drugs was reduced from 48.9±9.3 minutes/day to 4.4±0.9 minutes/day. This means that the occupational exposure time of 48.9±9.3 min/day for nurses was reduced to zero and the occupational exposure time for dispensing pharmacists was reduced to 4.4±0.9 min/day. In addition, it allowed pharmacists to properly confirm anti-cancer drugs preparations.