3 Ways to Prevent Cross Contamination with Instrumentation

Nearly a year ago, Brazilian competitive swimmers Cesar Cielo, Henrique Barbosa and others were found to have furosemide, combined with the possibility of the substance coming from cross-contamination. While these athletes got a warning, it could have been much more severe – they could have lost their chance to compete as well as their reputations. Cross contamination should be avoided across all industries, but none so much as in the pharmaceutical industry for many reasons. For instance, a drug, especially one like penicillin could create a hyper-sensitivity and even death in some patients. It is commonplace to think that the best way to avoid this is by having a supremely sterile environment for both manufacturing and packaging of items.

This is a good start, but here are three ways you can further avoid cross contamination. According to the pharmaceutical guidelines there are many ways that this could happen. Having multiple products near one station, two or more drugs of similar size, shape, and color, and same apparatus or instrument used to pack multiple items are three ways that you can avoid

1. Have a different station for each product as often as possible. While this may not always be practical, it is the safest way to ensure products will not get mixed up.

2. For adjoining stations, make sure that the products packaged are dissimilar. It will be easier to differentiate the products if you have a small, round red pill at one station, and on either side are different colors, shapes, and sizes.

3. As often as possible, use different apparatuses or instruments to measure out the proper dosages of the product. When instruments are shared, it can create quite a problem if residue from one drug rubs off and mixes with another.

While it might seem tempting to use recycled instruments, don't. As stated in Pakistan Today, used and recycled instrumentations and apparatuses come with a wide array of contaminants already on them and embedded in the cracks. It is far safer to purchase new equipment. Contact us to discuss how to make your pharmacy as safe as possible.