Question

reflection essay about biorisk management in pharmacy

Answer 1

Risk associated with biological material are called as bio risk. In the context of bio risk management two inevitable terms are biosafety and biosecurity. Biosafety means keeping bad bugs away from people that is preventing exposure to pathogens or toxins and their unintentional release. Biosecurity means keeping bad people away from bugs which means to prevent the misuse, loss or theft and intentional release of toxins or pathogens.

Some measures to prevent the bio risk are:

Creating awareness about the risk
Application of graded level protection based on risk management
Proper registration of the biological agents
Redundancy of building installation to ensure continuity
Proper implementation of biomedical waste management techniques
Monitoring and timely auditing
Training the staff regarding bio risk management techniques and protocols.
Some of the common bio risks are exposure to a pathogen during contact with a patient,  spillage of cell culture with high concentration of a virus in the lab, theft or misuse of controlled substances etc. The measures to prevent bio risk includes : Assessment, Mitigation and Performance of the bio risk (as per the Bio risk Management Model).

Identification of the risks, hazards and threats are included in assesment. Hazards are risks that occurs in a particular situation like risk due to exposure to radioactive substances while handling them. Threat is usually another human who may cause intentional or unintentional harm to another person like a patient with a communicable disease who has the potential to spread the disease. A risk can occur from a hazard or a threat. The probability of occurrence of a risk and its consequences must be studied in the assessment phase.

Mitigation involves engineering controls, administrative controls, procedures, practices and use of PPEs (Personal Protective Equipment). Engineering control involves equipping the work environment with materials, machines or equipment that could minimize the exposure to a risk. In administrative controls the authorities must develop and implement proper standards and guidelines for risk control and risk reduction like immunization of the employees against potential pathogens. Procedures and practices means following the practices that are proved to be effective in controlling or reducing a risk like restricting entry to outsiders inside the lab areas to prevent theft or misuse. Use of proper PPEs can protect the employees against exposure to harmful pathogens or substances.

Performance means the mode of operation of an institution. By following the above mentioned measures in preventing the bio risks like risk awareness and training, control of procedures and processes, checking the system by monitoring and auditing, ensuring that all required standards are met will help in bio risk reduction.

Implementation of a Plan, Do, Check and Act cycle may ensure sustained bio risk reduction in a facility.