Reflecting the ease of accomplishing this requirement, 86% of all facilities have provided an HD risk acknowledgement form to their staff capable of reproduction who come into contact with HDs. Of course the simplest approach is to simply provide this form to all staff.

While this year saw a slight dip in the number of facilities requiring the use of a respirator for staff handling HDs that require respiratory protection outside of the PEC, there is an overall upward trend for this practice. This is a key area for the DP to examine during an HD tracer. For those staff outside of the cleanroom, such as OR nurses handling an HD that requires respiratory protection, consider whether the use of an N95 respirator is needed for staff safety.

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An impressive 90% of all facilities currently use a gap analysis tool to assess their compliance with USP <800>. Facilities are looking for off-the shelf products rather than a homegrown option, with the ASHP tool being the most commonly utilized.