Medical Surveillance Programs for Workers Exposed to Hazardous Medications: A Survey of Current Practices in Health Care Institutions.

Abstract

To assess current medical surveillance monitoring practices for health care workers who prepare, handle, or administer hazardous medications. A cross-sectional survey was distributed to members of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. Forty-six of the 91 survey respondents indicated that their institution had a hazardous medication surveillance program. We identified the most frequent laboratory (complete blood count) and physical (skin) examination components. A health history was frequently used. Statistical analysis did not suggest an association between institutions with greater resources and presence of a surveillance program. A consensus standard for medical monitoring was not reported by the respondents. We recommend using a standardized surveillance questionnaire and applying uniform laboratory testing across institutions, in addition to establishing a national repository for surveillance data.